


Hiding My Heart

by copernicusjones



Category: Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon: Animal Parade
Genre: F/M, Self-Esteem Issues, Sisters, other minor pairings (canon and non)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-01
Updated: 2014-07-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 15:32:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3452384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/copernicusjones/pseuds/copernicusjones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Candace wasn't smart, talented, or pretty enough for anyone to notice her, and that was fine—some people were meant to live their lives in the background. But a strange, eventful week and the encouragement of friends begins to change her mind—that maybe she's not as insignificant as she's always believed. Especially not to Kasey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Only a Fool

Candace's hand skated over the silk skirt of Renee's wedding dress. She wanted just one last touch before it was zipped up in a garment bag and delivered to the bride-to-be.

She couldn't believe that this was  _her_ creation. She'd been sewing or knitting in some facet since she was a small child; it was the only thing she was good at, really, and she supposed after all these years that finishing a project would lose its satisfaction. But nothing pleased Candace quite like stitching in the final thread of an article of clothing. What had at one point only been an idea, she could transform into something real and tangible.

Just that Renee had commissioned Sonata Tailors to make her wedding dress was an honor in itself, and Candace couldn't remember another time she'd been so eager to begin a project.

A dreamy smile formed on her lips when she imagined Renee walking down the aisle of Celesta Church in that dress, ready to begin the rest of her life with Toby. Stitched entirely around the hem were golden sunflowers, and the bodice was gathered together in a criss-cross of bright white and lemon-yellow chiffon. A matching silk yellow ribbon wrapped around the waist and tied neatly in the back.

It was enough for a pang of envy to rise up inside her. Not only could she never look as beautiful as Renee would in a dress like that, she knew she'd never even have the opportunity to wear a wedding dress of her own. This was the closest she would ever come to being married herself, having her handmade dress worn by a dear friend at their wedding.

No boy would ever care for her the way Toby did for Renee.

Candace fingered at the hem, the precise design of the sunflowers— _her_  handiwork—shaking away the prospect of becoming an old maid. That was such a selfish thing to think about, with such a joyous occasion only a few days away. Still, it was the dream of every little girl to walk down that aisle, wrapped in a breathtakingly gorgeous wedding dress and whisked away to a new world with their proverbial prince, while friends and family watched and cheered. So maybe she shouldn't fret  _too_ much about letting herself mentally indulge.

"Candace!" Luna's voice broke into her thoughts, and Candace lifted her head to see her little sister at the doorway between their room and their grandmother's.

"Y-Yes?"

Luna clasped her hands together in delight. "Renee called about her dress, and I told her we just finished it this afternoon! She said she'd love to have you stay for tea if you wanted to bring it over now!"

"Really?" Moving to the closet she and Luna shared, Candace extracted an empty garment bag from the corner of it.

"Yes. Ugh, you're so lucky." Luna crossed over to help Candace stretch the bag over the dress and carefully zip it up. "Kathy and Anissa are there too, and I bet they're all just talking about the wedding. I promised Grandma I'd stay here and help her with the alterations to Toby and Paolo's suits."

"Oh, Luna." The two of them lifted the dress off its hook and began carrying it through the bedrooms, and out into the kitchen, Candace with the lower half and Luna with the upper. "If y-you'd rather take it there, th-that's okay with me. You'd probably have more t-to add than I would." Candace tried picturing herself having anything of substance to say in regards to a wedding, and nothing appeared. She'd just sit there staring into her tea and thinking about how undesirable she was.

"You can't send  _Luna_ over there with that. It's bigger than she is! She'll drag it all over the ground and ruin it!" A male's voice interrupted them from the shop front. Even with her back to the shop Candace knew it was Kasey, and was thankful he wasn't able to see the faint blush that had spread on her cheeks.

Luna dropped her half of the dress with a growl and dashed over to where the farmer stood, several feet behind Candace. Candace turned just in time, dress spilling awkwardly from her arms, to see her sister kicking at Kasey.

"Shut up! No one asked for your opinion! Which, might I add, stinks about as much as  _you_ do!" She kicked at him again for good measure.

Kasey wrapped his arms tight around Luna, pressing her face right into his sweaty, dirty shirt. "Luna, what would I ever do if I didn't have you nagging me  _day and night_?" She flailed and let out a muffled cry of discomfort, and he finally released her. He flashed her a cheeky grin as she pulled away spluttering, and wiping at her face.

"You wouldn't keep away from my sister, that's what, you lazy, good-for-nothing—"

"Luna!" Candace piped up, as much to her surprise as it was to Kasey's. Both he and Luna blinked at Candace's sudden burst of emotion.

Candace immediately dropped her head when Kasey's brown eyes met her blue ones. "B-Be nice to him. H-He brought us the yarn for m-most of the dress."

She neglected to add that Luna should also be nice to Kasey because he always took time out of his day to visit them. Every evening, maybe an hour or so after dinner, he'd stop by. Candace always looked forward to it. Sometimes he'd bring them yarn from his ranch and a few times, even, he'd brought them their favorite snacks, which she knew Luna was secretly grateful for, even if she constantly insulted him.

The gifts were very nice and she couldn't believe he'd give away such valuable items to someone as boring as her, but she wished she could tell him that they didn't really matter; she just liked seeing  _him_ everyday. His smile and his rich, clear laugh and how he'd always sound genuinely interested in how she, her family, and the shop were doing... she was so sad on the days he was unable to stop by.

From behind the bagged dress laying bulky and uncomfortable in her arms, she caught Kasey flicking a sly smirk in her direction before he addressed her sister. "Yeah Luna, you heard the woman."

"Get out of here, you dumb, icky farmer!" Luna snatched up a bundle of green yarn from a nearby basket and chucked it at Kasey. "Go home and hug your goats or whatever it is you do!"

Kasey ignored her and approached Candace, who was still struggling with the dress, trying to find a way to position it in her arms, or over her shoulder. "You need help with that?" He took it from her easily, draping it over one of his broad shoulders with the hanger hooked in his forefinger. Another knee-weakening smile, and she knew his question was only a formality, that he was going to help her no matter what answer she gave.

"N-No, it's quite alright," she protested. "I'm s-sure you have much more important th-things to do." All the way to Horn Ranch with Kasey? Surely she would only make a fool of herself in that amount of time.

"I don't. I gotta go by Horn Ranch and get some more feed anyway. And it'll be almost dark by the time you head back, I don't want you going that far by yourself. Let's go together."

His free hand reached for hers and she was surprised she didn't just crumple to the floor when they touched, though her legs wobbled and a feverish sensation clouded her head. "If you i-insist then I suppose..."

Kasey led her to the door, but Luna bolted in front of him, standing up on her tiptoes to her fullest height, which even then was barely enough to reach Kasey's shoulders. "If you let anything happen to her, I'll... I'll... I know where you live, okay?"

"Would I ever let anything happen to Candace?" Kasey replied, and though his voice took on the teasing tone it always did with Luna, it held a warmth and honesty that even Luna couldn't argue with.

* * *

 Candace had been to the Flute Field several times, usually to visit Julius on his days off (not that she wanted to, necessarily, but otherwise he'd wander by the shop and Luna would shoo him away and she just hated any confrontation between them), but tonight it was like a strange new land. It'd been overcast and misty all day, had rained all day before as well, and the path was soggy, squishing under her clogs and Kasey's boots. The windmill that sat at the border of Horn Ranch rotated under a curtain of grey clouds that fell like a veil in front of where the moon should've been.

It was very ominous, like there was a monster waiting to be unleashed behind the blanket of clouds, and Candace was glad Kasey had joined her.

She kept close and listened in earnest as Kasey told her about his day, about how the mining cart had almost exploded into splinters when Luke's idea of making it faster was wedging a lit firecracker left over from the Summer Festival between the rear wheels. And this was all while Bo was inside the cart, hammering in loose nails. Luckily Kasey had grabbed the firecracker and flung it off the edge of Garmon Mine's cliff, and Dale threatened to do the same to Luke when he found out.

Smiling politely, she wondered what it was like to be like Kasey. Someone who made friends so easily and always had so much fun; who others respected and wanted to be around.

"What about your day?" He glanced down at Candace, who quickly became focused on her muddy shoes.

"I f-finished Renee's dress. I'm sure Grandma would have been done faster, though. I-I just wanted to complete it to challenge m-myself." That sounded so boastful! She pressed her lips together and fooled with the cuffs of her cardigan. What a silly thing to say to Kasey.

They were now on the porch of Horn Ranch, and as Kasey reached for the door, Candace felt his eyes on her again. He said nothing.

If the sky hadn't been so heavy with the promise of rain, she would have turned right then and run all the way back to Harmonica Town.

Shrill squeals and the clamor of footsteps greeted them the moment they entered the ranch shop. Renee came speeding over with Kathy at her heels. Both sets of eyes were locked on the bag slung over Kasey's shoulder. They nearly knocked him over as they leapt and stole the dress away.

"Wow, this is just  _gorgeous_!" Renee breathed out as she hastily unzipped the bag Kathy held by the hanger, to reveal the upper part of the bodice. It reminded Candace of a butterfly ready to emerge from a cocoon, the way the dress lay beautiful and pure in its worn-out shell.

Candace didn't even get to reply—she wasn't sure if she should say "Thank you" or "You're welcome"—before Renee took her by the wrist and dragged her towards the rear door of the shop, that led to her bedroom. When she craned to check behind her for Kasey, all she got was a face full of Kathy following, toting the dress.

She wanted to cry out for Kasey to wait for her, to not leave until she was ready to go home as well, with the imminent storm brewing in the night sky, but how pitiful would that be? And, she reminded herself, he had so many other things to do. Being her escort, just because she was scared of the thunder and the dark, was not on the list of his duties as Castanet's rancher.

As she disappeared into the back, she could hear his voice ring with laughter as he greeted Hanna.

Soon she was immersed in the talk of honeymoons, of wedding tradition, of other topics that normally scared her into an even deeper silence. She missed most of the conversation though, her mind lingering on Kasey's smile, teacup trembling in her grip as she thought of how safe she'd felt in just that moment when he'd grabbed hold of her hand.

It was too good of a feeling, that Candace should've known it wouldn't last long.


	2. Sister Knows Best

The talk had strayed to dates for the wedding. Anissa, who had opted to wait in Renee's room while the other two attacked Kasey and the dress, confirmed she was, of course, going with Jin and the other two girls "awwww'd!" in unison. Kathy mumbled something about going with Owen, her voice much clearer as she emphasized it was only  _as friends!_

"Friends who hold hands?" Renee teased, and Kathy shoved at her playfully.

"M-maybe I can ask Julius..." Candace muttered to no girl in particular, and she didn't really mean it, because she had no intention of asking Julius but supposed the other girls would suggest she ask him anyway. He was the only boy besides Kasey that really talked to her, and there was no chance Kasey would go to the wedding with her, as a  _date_.

Thunder boomed outside, and Candace tightened her shaky grip around her teacup. "I sh-should go. I want to try and make it home before it's raining too hard." And before any more talk of the wedding. "Thank you f-for the tea, Renee." She took a final sip and set the near-empty cup on Renee's bedside table.

Renee stood up along with Candace and walked with her back into the shop, giving the seamstress a hug before she trekked back out into the humid night. Candace noticed Kasey wasn't anywhere to be found. Even though she'd been there nearly an hour and hadn't expected him to wait, it was still a little disappointing.

"Tell your grandmother thank you  _so much_ for the dress." Renee squeezed Candace's arm affectionately as she broke the hug, her eyes shining with gratitude.

Candace nodded dumbly, unsure of what Renee meant for a moment before realization plummeted into her stomach, painful-cold and numbing like swallowing ice cream the wrong way.

Renee didn't know, or even  _think,_ that Candace could have made the wedding dress. It was a simple assumption, that her grandmother would be the one to handle such an important task while her granddaughters would be more likely to make the bridesmaids' dresses, or work on alterations to the men's suits.

No, it was a perfectly honest mistake on Renee's part, but Candace had worked so long and so hard on that dress; she'd never been more proud of anything in her life. It would have been easiest to correct her friend, one sentence to let her know who the true designer and creator of the dress was.

But that made her feel even worse, to think it would sound as if she was trying to hog the spotlight. Renee liking the dress was what really mattered, not if Candace had made it.

At least that's what she kept telling herself as she trudged home in the drizzling rain.

* * *

Candace awoke at an admittedly strange time for anyone to awaken: 12:46 at night.

Unable to bear the stuffiness of her room, she quietly got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. The rain pattered rhythmically against the windowpane, another Summer shower accompanied by rumbles of thunder. Candace opened the window slightly, allowing the cool breeze to waft into the kitchen. It was soothing, as soothing as anything could be as she remembered  _why_ she'd been asleep.

She'd cried herself to sleep.

Luna always scolded her for crying, told her nothing she ever cried about was worth it and that she, Candace, needed to develop a thicker skin. This time she'd  _really_  tried not to cry, making it all the way back into her room until she couldn't take it any longer and collapsed into tears. She hoped it counted for something that she hadn't cried in front of her friends.

A streak of lightning split the dark outside, and Candace could see the unforgiving storm clouds overtaking the entire sky. They blocked out everything: the moon, the stars, even the lighthouse down at the docks was barely visible in their presence

Suddenly they weren't scary anymore, only fitting, their shadows like a comfortable well-worn sweater. Something she felt at home in.

It was true, because her entire life had been spent in the shadows. A fresh crop of tears sprung to her eyes again, as she thought about what had happened that night. Everyone else—Grandma, Luna, Kasey, Renee—had something about them that thrust them into the forefront in someone's eyes, while Candace was left to wither behind the scenes. Julius had been right all those years ago, that she was so dreadfully boring and mediocre, that if she didn't do something about herself, she'd become an old maid surrounded by nothing but cats—or in Candace's case, silkworms. His apology had come in the form of actually being kinder to her, and shifting his teasing to Luna, but Candace couldn't help but believe he wouldn't have said it all in the first place, if it wasn't true.

There was leftover pumpkin pie in the fridge, so Candace helped herself to a slice in the hopes that an indulgent treat would make the tears subside. She ate it silently, while milk boiled in a teapot on the stove for milk tea.

Not long after the kettle whistled and Candace stirred the milk in with the teabag, Luna burst in from the bedroom. Her features were etched with the frustration Candace felt inside, and Candace remembered how her little sister was just as unnerved by thunderstorms as she was, not that she'd admit it anymore.

"You c-couldn't sleep either?" She watched as Luna retrieved the entire pie from the fridge, grabbed a clean fork from the drawer, and sat down across from where Candace had left her own slice.

"No..." Luna said, her voice hushed and clipped, and she nearly dropped her fork when an ear-cracking boom of thunder rolled outside. But there was more to Luna's insomnia than the storm, Candace could sense, with how atypically forceful her movements were as she dug into the pie.

"Um, Luna, are you okay...?"

"Of course I'm not!" She stabbed the fork down into the remaining pie, and swiveled around in her chair to face her sister. "Why didn't you  _tell_ me you liked him, Candace?"

"W-What?" Candace squeaked out, unable to move, heat creeping up her neck that definitely wasn't a product of her hot tea.

"We had a deal, remember? We tell each other everything!" Luna's harsh tone softened, not angry anymore, but hurt. "We're sisters, we need to look out for each other! Especially when it comes to boys."

"Boys? Luna, you don't m-mean..."

"Kasey? He came back here looking for you, before he went to the Brass Bar, but I told him you were asleep."

"R-Really? Why?" A chill ran through her, though not unpleasant. Like taking a dip in the ocean on a sweltering day. Kasey had really come around again? For  _her_?

"He didn't  _say_ why, he just asked if you were here. I told him to mind his own business." Luna crossed her arms, her chin high, proud she'd protected her sister from an evil such as Kasey.

"Luna, why are you so mean to him? I wish you wouldn't be, I-I.." There was no point in denying it to Luna any longer. "I really l-like him..."

"I know you do, and I don't want you to get hurt by him! He's such a flirt, you know? If he's not serious about you, he shouldn't be so... the way he is! But I didn't think you liked him until I saw your face this afternoon. You were so  _red_ when he offered to go to Horn Ranch with you."

Candace couldn't control the same deep blush from appearing as Luna's accusation drew up the memory in her mind.

"See!" Luna hopped off her chair and moved over to Candace. She took the tea from her sister, and set it on the counter, while Candace tried to bury her wildly red face in her hands. Luna pried them away, clasping them tight in her own and ducking her head down to try and look Candace in the eyes.

"Candace, look at me." Candace finally obeyed and let her nerve-wrought gaze meet Luna's firm yet caring one. "Why didn't you just  _tell_  me?  _I_ think he's a yucky troll most of the time, but if  _you_ really want to go out with him, I could've... can... try to help you!"

"But he doesn't like me like that, Luna. H-He's just being nice, l-like he is to everyone. That's why I didn't tell you. It'd just be silly to waste your time."

"Quit it with the defeatist attitude, Candace! You're the best sister anyone could have, and I know you'd make a great girlfriend, even if it is  _Kasey._  You just need to give yourself a  _chance_."

Candace whimpered and nodded. Even if Luna didn't have the most tact, and it was easy to assume her kind words were _because_ they were sisters, the weight inside her heart lifted. Maybe it wasn't so silly after all.

"Ugh, speak of the devil." Luna inclined her head towards the kitchen window.

Candace turned to see, illuminated under the street lights, three figures: Owen, Selena, and Kasey. They were together at the bridge between the Brass Bar and the tailor's, not one bit discouraged by the steady rain.

Or, at least Owen and Kasey weren't. Selena was huddled close to Kasey, his red jacket halfway off and haphazardly tugged around her shoulders. She looked as though she was urging Kasey to stop socializing with Owen, taking tiny steps backwards but being pulled right back to where she started by the jacket connecting them.

"What is he  _doing_ out on a night like this _?_ " Luna sneered. "His hair's going to be even  _more_ of a mess when it dries."

Candace didn't think it'd do any good to tell Luna that Kasey probably wasn't too concerned with his hair at the moment, with a pretty girl like Selena not seeming to mind how it was plastered all down the side of his head like a soaking wet helmet. She thought it looked sort of cute too, and wondered what Kasey would think if she told him that. No, it was too scary to say something so forward to him.

Finally Selena managed to break Kasey away from Owen, and when they both turned, the excitement Candace had held, just to see his smile, was instantly replaced by the most foreign of emotions: jealousy.

Selena's arm was linked through Kasey's, and he was smiling, but  _at_ Selena. Candace tried to pretend she didn't notice, but she couldn't stop herself from letting her head drop.

Oh. Of course.

"No!" Luna stamped her foot when she witnessed what Candace had. "What's he doing with that trashbag! She's nothing but—"

"L-Luna, stop. Selena's nice." Granted, Candace had only spoken to her on a handful of occasions, but Selena had never been rude or unkind to her, even if she wasn't very talkative. Actually, Candace envied how confident Selena was in herself and her abilities as a dancer; it shouldn't have been such a surprise Kasey enjoyed her company as well. Now it made sense why he was at the Brass Bar nearly every night. That didn't make the ache inside lessen, though.

Luna's arms wrapped Candace in a gentle hug. "You'll still get him, Candace, I'll make sure of it!"

Candace wanted to tell her about the rest of her day, about why there was very little reason to believe any of that, but she just let Luna hug her and hoped her sister's determination would be enough to aid her in winning Kasey over.

Because she certainly didn't think anything she possessed would.


	3. Dates and Dresses

"Oh my gosh, if I say 'yes' will you shut up and  _go away_!"

Candace lifted her head from her project, a lightweight crocheted shawl for Hanna, to see the front door swing open and Luna enter with Luke trailing behind her.

"Really?" Luke exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. "Yeah, Luna, you rock! Bo'll be so happy!"

"Not half as happy as I'll be if you leave me alone," Luna replied flatly. "And I know that I 'rock', I don't need  _you_ to tell me that."

Luke saluted her with a giant smile pasted on his face. "Yes ma'am!" With that, he turned and dashed out of the shop, the greeting bell almost coming off its post as he threw the door open.

Luna sat down next to Candace in a huff, making a scene out of straightening her skirt.

"Um, what was th-that about...?" Candace asked cautiously.

"You know that boy from the carpenter's? Bo? Luke came up to me an hour ago, after I delivered those curtains to Barbara,  _begging_ me to be Bo's date to Renee's wedding! What a bunch of nerve he has! And he wouldn't leave me alone until I said yes! I hardly even know Bo!"

"M-Maybe he's just shy..." Candace offered, knowing Luna wouldn't be the easiest person to approach, especially when it came to asking her out.

"That's too bad, he can suck it up and  _ask_. I mean, it's not like I'd laugh in his face for just asking."

Candace wasn't so sure about that, but kept it to herself. "B-But you're going with him now?"

"Guess so." Luna shrugged, and stood up.

The bell at the front door jingled again, and in strutted Julius. Candace held back from smiling. She liked getting to see Julius, even if it meant having to weather his nitpicks about her outfit or her hair, or this, that, and the other thing.

"Oh my Goddess _,_ what is  _with_ this day?" Luna uttered under her breath. Julius playfully waggled his fingers at the girls while he strode up to them.

"What a dreadful day it's been! I feel like I haven't seen the sun in  _ages_!" He raked his fingers through his hair, which was damp from the drizzle yet to cease from last night.

"What do you want, Julius? Don't you have anything better to do? Like jumping off the cliff?" Luna shot him a hard glare.

"Now now," Julius tutted, flipping his purple mane back. "No need for such venom, sweetie! I've just stopped by in hopes that you two will be my lovely rays of sunshine on such a horrid day! "

"Uh-huh." Luna was unconvinced, but Candace smiled shyly at Julius. There were times he was very absorbed in superficiality, but then he'd make up for it with comments such as that. Even though she couldn't really picture herself with someone like Julius, and vice-versa, she supposed he wasn't the worst sort of man to be with. And he  _was_ cute.

"Actually, I was also curious about what you two are planning for Renee's wedding. I just adore weddings, you know. So full of beauty, of love, of  _style_! I can't wait to show off my suit! I dare say I may overshadow the bride herself! Not on purpose, of course, but some of us are just  _born_ to stand out, wouldn't you agree?"

Candace  _did_ agree wholeheartedly with that statement. It led her to think of the previous night, of how she had no qualities that would ever put her in the spotlight.

"Why the sad face, sister?" Julius winked at her, his hands on his hips.

"Probably because she has to look at your ugly mug." Luna frowned. "You should leave, Julius. You clash with the  _whole_  store."

"My my, someone has too much starch in her panties today!" Julius wrinkled his nose. "And to think I was going to ask you to accompany me to the wedding!"

"M-Me?" Luna stammered, and Candace was just as caught off guard. "N-No, I-I...  _never!_  Have you  _lost_   _your mind_?"

Julius erupted in a trill of laughter. "Of  _course_  not! I just wanted to see your reaction! My dear, your feathers are quite easy to ruffle! The look on your face was  _priceless_ , I shall carry it with me forever, and whenever I find myself down in the dumps, I will think on it and be overcome with the most satisfying joy."

But something about Julius's expression didn't match his words, his voice. The mischievous glint that was always prominent in his red eyes, whenever he verbally sparred with Luna, was absent. Instead, they were wooden, hollow. Candace was confused; had he  _really_ meant to ask Luna to the wedding?

Luna was quaking with anger, embarrassment. "And I'll have the 'most satisfying joy' putting my foot up your—"

Candace couldn't bear to let her finish the sentence. "U-Um. Julius!" She interrupted, wringing her hands fretfully.

"Yess~?" Julius looked at her, startled but impressed. It made what she was about to ask easier, knowing he, for once, wasn't radiating his typical self-assuredness.

"I-I would... like if you'd go t-to the wedding with  _me_." She stared at the floor as she finished her sentence, mostly because she wanted to imagine she was asking Kasey, and not Julius. But surely Kasey was going with Selena, and Julius was her friend. He was so excited about the wedding, that she didn't want him to be there alone.

" _Candace_!" Luna screeched, grabbing on to her sister's arm.

"Oh, how unexpected!" Julius preened, his smile returning. "Of course I'll be your date! But please, make sure you wear something a little more—" he paused, eyeing Candace up and down "—a little more  _becoming_  of you. Drat, I really don't want to spoil it, but I suppose I should inform you that I will be wearing a tan suit, with a white dress shirt and gold tie! And red-brown shoes! I'm sure Luna can assist you in putting together a splendid outfit that would complement it!"

"She'll wear whatever she wants, and you'll  _deal with it_ , you pompous peacock!" Luna's arm shot out in a straight line, her finger pointing at the door. " _Out_. Now."

"I  _see_! If you say so, Luna!" He stood with his lips pursed and head tilted slightly, amusement now dancing in his eyes, as if he were dealing with an oh-so-precocious but oh-so-cute-because-of-it child. "Ta-ta for now, my beautifully beauteous beauties!~" Julius blew a kiss at the girls and, with another flourish of his streaked purple hair, turned on his fashion-forward heel and left Sonata Tailors with his head high.

* * *

"Luna, are you s-sure?" Candace stared at herself in the mirror, red-faced at her own reflection, and hugged her arms to herself in an attempt to cover up what she felt was her  _much_ -too-exposed upper half.

"Of course I'm sure!" Luna clapped her hands together gleefully. "I just  _knew_ it'd fit you! Green's definitely your color!"

"You don't think it's a little...  _revealing_?" Candace kept one arm crossed over her chest and used the other to try and tug down at the hem of the dress, which only came to just below her knees.

"It's  _Summer_ , Candace! It's not revealing, it's fashionable and in-season! And you have those white flats I bought you for your birthday that you've never worn to go with it! It's  _perfect_! It'll shut Julius up; maybe he'll finally keep his yap shut about what you wear. You'll knock his floral socks off!"

Candace hesitantly dropped her arm away and examined herself in the mirror again. The ivory-and-mint green striped seersucker sundress did fit her very nicely, even if it was a bit form-fitting on the top, and left her shoulders bare save for two knotted strings serving as straps.

Luna had bought it for herself when she was in the city for her studies for a hugely discounted price, in hopes of altering it for herself one day. Except, when she'd returned home, she'd thrown it in the back of their closet and completely forgotten about it. Upon rediscovering it, she'd squealed with delight and all but held Candace down to force it on her.

"Spin around!" Luna commanded, emphasizing it with a twirl of her finger.

"B-But..."

"Do it! It'll make you feel pretty!"

Candace did as she was told and spun around two full times, the skirt of her dress spreading out around her like a flower in bloom.

It made her a little dizzy, but at the same time she felt... different. Pretty, like Luna had predicted.

Luna squeaked happily and clung to her sister's arm. "And forget about Julius, who cares about him anyway? Just wait 'til  _Kasey_  sees you in this. He'll forget all about that two-bit streetwalker."

"Luna..." Candace sighed and gave her a disappointed look.

"Okay, fine fine. I'm sure she's a  _very nice_ girl." Luna responded grudgingly, indicating she believed Selena was anything but. "She just doesn't dress like it."

"I-It's not right to judge someone by their looks, you know." Candace gave her sister a faint smile. "L-Like Bo, for instance." Dale's apprentice was very polite, courteous—mature even, from what Candace had heard from Kasey—and she hoped Luna would see past the fact that he didn't dress as smart as Gill or Julius. It wasn't the outside that mattered.

"Ugh, don't remind me. Oh  _shoot_ , do you think I should go check to make sure he isn't wearing something atrocious to the wedding? I bet Luke'll be all..." Luna cleared her throat and put on a lower voice, affectedly dopey; her impression of Luke. "'Hey bro, you should  _totally_ wear high-tops to the wedding! It'll make you a trendsetter! Do-ho-hoho!'"

Candace giggled, despite knowing she shouldn't encourage Luna's insults. "M-Maybe you  _should_. You could g-get to know him better. It might make it less uncomfortable t-tomorrow."

"Hm." Luna considered Candace's suggestion for a few moments, then looked back at her with a new spark in her eyes. "If you agree to wear that tomorrow, then yeah, I'll go pay Bo a visit."

Nodding fervently, Candace smiled even wider, glad she hadn't had to beg Luna nearly as much as she'd expected. "Really, Luna? You will? Then y-yes, I'll wear this!"

"Gosh, you're more excited about my love life than your own." Luna countered with an equally big grin. "Well, I guess I'll see you tonight for dinner then."

Luna started for the door, but Candace scampered over and stopped her. "Wait!" Luna did so, tilting her head in confusion, and then Candace drew her close in a tight hug. "Thank you for m-making me pretty. I can't remember the last time I was."

" _I_  didn't do anything." Luna said as she pulled away, trying to hide her pride at Candace's gratitude. "You've always been beautiful, Candace."


	4. On the Mend

The rest of the day, Candace finally found time to relax, after the deadlines and pressure set upon her with the task of Renee's dress. She took a walk over to the Choral Clinic, where she spent the afternoon paging through the magazines Irene kept in the lobby for patients. At the end of every season, Irene would throw away the concluding Season's issues to make room for the upcoming one, but Candace liked to search them and cut out recipes for her grandmother as well as various fashion photos and articles for Luna (and to educate herself).

Irene was always so accommodating too, providing small snacks and sharing stories of her own childhood (and Jin's, if the doctor wasn't within earshot and quick to tell Irene there was no need for his past embarrassments to be known to anyone in the general public; doctors had to keep an air of professionalism, after all) with Candace.

This particular afternoon was just as normal as Candace had expected it to be, sitting in one of the lobby's cushy chairs as she nibbled the herb cookies Irene had set out, while the nurse bustled between the examination room and the lobby, organizing files and restocking supplies. As she was in the midst of snipping out a photograph of a gorgeous model showing off the latest boots for the approaching Autumn, the front door flew open with a  _WHAP!_ , enough to startle Candace into cutting the model clear in half straight through her middle.

When she looked up again, she saw Kasey clutching his right arm with his left hand, chewing on his bottom lip as though he were fighting back cries of pain.

For one of the few times in the year and a half Candace had known him, Kasey was not cool or collected, but frantic. His eyes darted around, presumably in search of the doctor, and paused longer than Candace would have liked on her. She just sat there with her mouth blooped open, eyes wide and scissors suspended in mid-air over the magazine.

"Hey" he mouthed at her, the nervousness fleeing his eyes momentarily before Irene reappeared from the examination room with a few files.

"Hello Kasey. How may I help you?"

"Yeah, is Dr. J around?"

"I'm afraid  _Jin_ is not here, he is making a house call to Marimba Farm. Taylor decided it'd be a perfectly logical idea to run barefoot through poison ivy."

"Hey, don't knock it 'til ya tried it!" Kasey gave her a cocky smile.

"If you're here simply to be a smart-mouth and to visit your...  _friends_ "—she nodded directly at Candace, which sent the girl back to paging through her magazine—"I suggest you do it outside. We just cleaned down the office here yesterday, and I could do without all the dirt and mud you seem to attract on a daily basis."

Candace snuck a glance to see Kasey frown exaggeratedly, then lift his arm for Irene to see.

"Oh, well, actually..." He removed the hand covering his arm; it was coated with both dried and fresh blood.

"Kasey!" Candace stood up, the pile of articles she'd neatly stacked fanning out at her movement, and dashed over to him. Then she saw it better: a lengthy gash across his right forearm. Parts of it were scabby, with small streaks of bright red dripping down his arm as he held it up.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Without thinking, Candace reached out to grab his shirt, then just as quickly let go, wanting to maintain composure in front of Irene.

"Ah, well, that's the risks of mining." She could feel his breath on the crown of her head as he spoke. "When it gets dark down there and you trip and fall... sometimes you land on the ground and other times you land on jagged ore. It happens. But I'm sure Irene here will bandage me up." He winked at the elderly woman. "Right, and give me a lollipop afterwards?"

A small sob bubbled up inside her.  _What if Kasey had been more seriously hurt? What if he hadn't been able to get out on his own? What if..._

She circled her arms around him, tighter than she could ever remember hugging anyone before, except Luna at their parents' funeral. "Please... I w-wish you wouldn't be s-so reckless, Kasey. Please be more careful.  _Please_?" she begged, her face buried into his chest.

"Ah, c'mon, I'm fine. It doesn't even hurt that much, it just  _looks_ nasty, that's all." His voice implied as much, but his body was locked and rigid, and she'd seen the slight panic on his face when he'd first entered the clinic.

Irene, who was now out from behind the counter and beside the two of them, cleared her throat. "Candace, if you wouldn't mind..."

"S-Sorry." Candace inched away from Kasey, and bowed her head as Irene led him back into the examination room.

* * *

Candace began to gather up her magazine clippings. The stylish models in the pictures reminded her so much of Luna that her sister's voice rang in her head. " _Give yourself some credit, Candace!_ "

There was no way she could just run off  _now_ , even if she felt what she'd done to Kasey— _hugging_  him!—was foolish and probably off-putting, especially given he was injured and seeking immediate medical attention, and she'd only delayed that. Luna's efforts would have gone all for naught, and Candace certainly didn't want to disappoint her.

So she should wait... it shouldn't be long, right? He just needed antiseptic and a bandage and gauze and he'd be out soon. She could hear Kasey laughing (probably kidding Irene about something) through the slightly ajar door, and her heart beat faster and faster, sharp and loud in her ears like the needle of her sewing machine.

Then the door swung open, and Irene stepped out, her eyes landing right on Candace. All she did was nod, and Candace scurried by her, fingers tense and crinkling her clippings as she entered the examination room. Kasey was inspecting his new band-aid, which was wrapped entirely around his forearm, over a set of large sterile pads. He pressed gingerly where the pads lay over his wound, and tiny specks of blood emerged with each press.

"O-Oh, Kasey, don't do that. It'll stick to your skin and hurt m-more when you have to take it off."

He chuckled at her admonishment of him, then patted on the bed beside him encouraging her to sit down, which she did (but not too close). "Think it'll leave a scar?"

"Um. I... hope not?" Candace felt awfully hot again, even though the clinic was kept cooler than most other businesses. Her hand was all sweaty and clenching the paper in it, and she forced herself to relax her hold on them.

"Really? Aw, I think it'd be bad-ass. Like a battle scar. I could tell someone I fought a bear or somethin'."

"Oh... then... I hope it does?" Candace corrected herself, and shook her head. "I should g-go, though, I'm glad you're um... better now?" Despite her words, she didn't move.

"Well, thanks for worrying about me at least. Geez, I asked Owen when I was passing back through the mines if he had a first-aid kit or anything on him, and showed it to him. He just told me to 'walk it off.'"

"I al-always worry about you..." Candace's voice trailed off, looking at the floor, unwilling to see if Kasey reacted to that confession. She quickly changed the subject. "What were you d-doing in the mines anyway?"

What a dumb question. Obviously he was there searching for gems or other valuable metals.

"Actually, I hadn't figured out yet what I wanna get Toby and Renee for their wedding. I asked Julius, because, y'know, he's all into the latest trends. He said the hip thing right now is monograms, so why don't I get some silver and he can make a monogrammed picture frame for Toby and Renee. Like it'd have a 'T' and 'R' engraved in it with a big ol' heart in the corner. That sounds kind of cool, right?"

"Y-Yes, Julius always has good ideas."

"He mentioned something else. About you asking him to be his date to the wedding?"

Candace gasped and stood up, and all her clippings scattered to the floor, but she didn't care. She wanted to run out of the clinic without looking back. Not that Kasey wouldn't know by tomorrow she and Julius were going together, but it mortified her to think of Kasey and Julius talking about her.

 _What did Julius say?!_  Would he have told Kasey how he expected Candace to show up in a "frumpy" dress with her hair "same-old, same-old"? She knew Julius only meant to look out for her but most of the time it sounded so critical. Except with the way he said it, with a smile and a flirtatious wave of the hand and a twinkle in his eye, it was all so  _nice_. She never dared to tell him how hurtful he was, because that might result in him not talking to her anymore at all.

Kasey crouched down off the bed and carefully picked up the strewn-about clippings to the best of his ability, with only one hand.

"I-I'm sorry, Kasey... I didn't mean... let me h-help." She knelt down next to him to assist him, doing her best to look anywhere but at him.

They both reached for the same scrap, and their hands collided. Candace squeaked and Kasey laughed softly. "Candace... what's wrong? Don't you want to go with Julius, or...?"

"W-Well, it's... you see, um..." She drew in a deep breath. "It's not that I don't  _want_ to. Julius is my friend, but sometimes h-he can be a... um..."

"A hyper-critical jerk?" Kasey scoffed as he handed her his collected pieces and the two stood back up. "You know he told me he hopes that I at least bother to comb my hair for the wedding? Like c'mon, I comb it every day! I'm not gonna waste my money on fifty kinds of shampoo like he does, just so it doesn't stick up in a few different places!"

"H-He doesn't  _mean_ it though, Kasey, I know he doesn't! L-Like Luna! You know that even though she scolds you, she still thinks of you as a friend deep down!"

"Deep  _deep_ down..." Kasey muttered.

"But Julius means well, he really does... He just doesn't... always think of how he says things." Candace finished her defense rather meekly. How she wished everyone could just get along and there wasn't always some sort of underlying tension, which included her latent jealousy of Selena. "You're going w-with Selena, right?"

Kasey quirked an eyebrow. "I am, but... how do you know that? She just asked me last night."

Shoot! Kasey couldn't know she'd seen him, even if it was completely unintentional on her part. It would make her seem like she was tracking his every move. "At Horn Ranch, um... the other girls said y-you two are dating. I just assumed you'd be going with her!"

"Dating?" He replied, incredulous. "Nah, no way! Selena and I are just  _friends_. She's really interesting to talk to. I mean, we both kind of left our lives to start over again here on Castanet Island. It's nice to be able to talk to someone about that sometimes. She's funny too; she's got a boatload of quips for all the guys leering at her at the bar."

Relief washed over Candace as her lips curved into a smile. "Yes, it is n-nice to be able to talk to someone wh-who understands certain things."

"Candace." Kasey's voice fell quiet, more serious. "You do know if I  _was_ dating Selena... or anybody, I'd tell you. You know that, right?"

"Um... why would you tell me that?"

Kasey laughed again, shaking his head, his hair swaying back and forth across his eyes. "'Cause I know I can trust you with more... private things like that. You've always been a really good friend to me."

"Me? A g-good friend?" Candace was stunned. So many of the townsfolk she considered "friends", that she cared for dearly and would do absolutely anything to make them happy. It was natural to assume the other residents cared about her as well, but a  _friend_? She really couldn't recall the last time any of them had used that word and directed it towards her, even those she was closest with, like Julius. She'd always just been plain Candace, the wallflower that faded into the background. "Thank you, Kasey. I um... I  think the same... of you."

"Good, it'd be a shame if you didn't," he said sincerely.

A grumble of thunder outside sent Candace inching towards Kasey, her arms crossed as she clutched the magazine clippings to her chest. "I-I really hope it stops raining by the wedding tomorrow," she whispered.

"Yeah, me too." Kasey touched her elbow and didn't move it away, and she could feel her pulse accelerating, a charged sensation racing through her. "Let me walk you back home 'fore it starts pouring, okay? _"_

"Th-Thank you, but it's only down the lane. Y-You don't have to."

Hand still on her elbow, he gave a small pull towards the door, this time not requesting but stating. "Candace. Let me walk you back."

So she let him.


	5. Rainy Day Revelations

"What are those papers you're carrying?" Kasey asked Candace as he opened the door for her and they walked into Sonata Tailors, away from the damp dreariness infesting Harmonica Town.

"Um, n-nothing really." Candace looked down at her handful of clippings, most of them all wrinkled up, while she walked ahead of Kasey and to the kitchen table. "I mean... nothing you'd find interesting," she told him, contradicting the fact she actually  _did_ want to tell him about how she had cut them out for Luna, who was always searching for inspiration when it came to style.

"I bet I would," he challenged her with a smirk, rotating his chair so it was backwards, and taking a seat across from her with his arms overlapped on the back of the chair. He clearly wasn't budging until she told him.

So Candace slowly and carefully explained to Kasey how much she liked to help Luna in any way she could, especially with fashion. How it made her feel much more useful than she normally did, with nearly every time she'd show them to Luna resulting in her sister scribbling a design of her very own on a napkin or piece of scrap paper.

Once she got the first few sentences out, it was actually very easy to keep going. And this was people did when they liked someone right? They could openly talk about their likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, and all those other personal subjects without the fear of being judged. She thought of how Bo might be going through the same ordeal with Luna right now, trying to be exceedingly careful with what he did and didn't say to her.

But Kasey listened attentively and that, combined with what he told her at the clinic, how  _he_  trusted  _her,_ alleviated the negativity that had burrowed itself so deep into her mindset, at least for the moment.

"That's really cool, Candace." Kasey said finally, after she'd finished talking.

"Thank y-you..." She instinctively shrunk down into her chair, as if she were trying to dodge his compliment. "I-I mean, it's not near as much as y-you've done for this town, but—"

"We're not talkin' about me, though." He cut her off, but with a smile. "You really shouldn't compare yourself to me, or Luna, or  _please_ , not Julius."

"I-I know, I'm sorry. Luna told me that too but i-it's hard when everybody else is..." Candace stared down at the tablecloth again, the rest of her sentence a mumble barely audible above the rain drumming against the windows.

"Everyone else is what?"

Candace pretended she hadn't heard him, trying to think of how she could repeat what she'd just said in a way which wouldn't upset Kasey.

"Everyone else is  _what_?" Kasey reached across and rapped his fist sharply on the table, getting Candace's attention, her head shooting up. He was waiting for her answer, and the look on his face was one of impatience.

"I... well, i-it... it s-seems everyone else is really... good at something. A-And I think I'm a very capable s-seamstress, not as good as Grandma b-but at least better than average—"

"I think so too," Kasey interjected. "I used that scarf you gave me nearly every day last Winter, and it's still good as new."

"Oh, that's... very nice." She found herself smiling, and able to actually look at Kasey and not the patterns in the tablecloth. "Um, I g-guess what I meant is that sometimes... I feel like since I-I'm not good at anything other than sewing th-that I should be the best at that a-and if I'm not, then... then I'm just no good at all."

There, she said it. She admitted it, even though Luna would have a fit if she heard Candace saying such self-deprecating things about herself to Kasey. It wasn't that she was searching for compliments from Kasey; that wasn't her reason at all. With all her anxiety over saying the wrong thing or having people judge her, it was difficult for her to really articulate her insecurities, so she just didn't say anything at all, even when someone was kind enough to worry and ask.

With Kasey it was different. From the first day that he moved to Castanet Island, Candace had always known where she stood with him (except recently in regards to how he felt about her romantically, but that was a product of overactive wishful thinking on her part). It was a lot like Luna, but Luna bordered on abrasive at times. She always admired that about him, how he never hid a single thing about his personality, with the attitude of take-it-or-leave-it. How she wished she could be more like that, not to impress him, or anybody else, but for her own happiness and self-confidence.

Running his hand through his hair, Kasey made a noise halfway between a sigh and a groan. Candace bit her lip nervously, knowing she had failed at not upsetting him. "I-I'm sorry, Kasey, I shouldn't... drop this all on you. You're so um,  _different_ than me, you wouldn't understand about...w hat all I just said."

"No, Candace, that's not it at all. Maybe I don't know  _exactly_ how you feel, but I have kind of a good idea." His shoulders fell as he exhaled another sigh. "Have I ever told you why I moved here?"

Candace blinked at him. He sounded frustrated yes, but not at her, more of in a general way, like when she'd visit the Inn and hear Yolanda grow exasperated with having to explain a recipe to Maya over and over. "Because you didn't w-want to go to college, right?"

"Yeah, that's part of it. There's more to it than just not wanting to go. 'Cause, look, I wasn't an excellent student, but I had great grades in Chemistry. I dunno why, it just was always easy to me, and I always played with these goofy childrens' lab sets when I was a kid. You know, because I thought maybe I'd create an explosion or some magical juice that would turn me into one of the X-Men or something and it just really interested me enough for me to actually put forth some effort in my classes. I didn't even want to do it for a living, but I kind of had it drilled into me that I have to do something with my life that 'contributes' to society, and all that other stupid stuff they tell you during high school."

He paused; another deep breath. " _Anyway_ , I—"

Kasey stopped abruptly as the lamp dangling overhead hummed loudly. It shuddered once, then again, and went out completely. The refrigerator too fell silent, and the clocks on the stove and microwave went dark.

They were left in a dull silence for about twenty seconds before (much to Candace's relief) the light buzzed again and flickered on, the refrigerator puttered back to life, and the microwave beeped 12:00 on its display.

"Are you okay?" Kasey inquired; he must have noticed the far-off look in her eyes in the brief time the power was out.

"Y-yes, I... it's only electricity, i-it's not a big deal." At least, it wasn't compared to the severity of the storm itself. While she wasn't a fan of the dark, Candace was absolutely terrified of storms, and being alone during one even more so. "Please, continue. Y-You were saying a-about you were really good in Science class?..."

Kasey nodded, his normally cheerful smile becoming a wry one. "Yeah. So, I probably had the best grades in my class, but I  _couldn't_  get into the college I wanted to because my other grades sucked. I started like, hating myself, thinking of how disappointed my parents must be that their only child isn't going to a good school, and wondering what the hell was going to become of me, because I really couldn't think of anything else I was legitimately really good at, like how you said about you and sewing. Except maybe Tetris, but I don't think that's a career choice. So I came here, and I'm really not a great rancher or anything, but that's okay with me."

Candace's heart sank, hearing Kasey had once thought so poorly of himself, that he'd even gone so far to say he'd 'hated' himself. It was tough imagining him not carefree and spontaneous, as she knew him. She hoped what she had to tell him would mean something. "But I've been to your farm, Kasey! You take very good care of it, and your animals always seem really sweet and happy. And you even saved the island, a-and...at least I think it's been a lot better here since you've arrived."

His smile had grown, and the edge and bitterness in his voice had dissipated. "Right, yeah. But Ruth and Craig are way better at raising high-quality crops than I am—trust me, Craig likes to remind me of it every time I see him. And do you know how many times Cain's had to show me how to shear a sheep? It still takes me forever..."

When she'd get nervous, Candace had a habit of playing with the sleeves of her cardigan, and the threads of the cuffs had become more worn than the rest of the sweater. Kasey, it seemed, was apt to comb his fingers through his hair when out of his comfort zone; no doubt talking about something as emotionally unfulfilling as his past was just that. She wondered if he knew he had this habit, or if he really didn't at all, and she was just making it up because she had started paying  _too_ much attention to him.

"Look, Candace, my point is, if I had gone off to college, I would have driven myself nuts trying to be the best, to  _stay_  the best, like keeping my grades up and ending up in a job where you can't really ever screw up. Plus I woulda been around a bunch of people who would treat me like I'm some loser, if I  _did_ screw up. I'm way happier here."

It sounded as if Kasey had thought about this for a while, but was just now really coming to understand it himself. For the longest time, Candace had viewed him as someone who  _was_ all-but-perfect, who had it all together, someone she wanted to be more like because of that. Now that she was learning the wasn't always so sure of his life and the path it followed, it made him even more likable in her eyes. That he was approachable and would and could relate to some of her own insecurities and past experiences, no longer the flawless hero she'd initially become smitten with, but a  _friend_.

She couldn't wait to tell Luna about this. Not about  _what_ Kasey had said; that was confidential, but just that they had talked and it hadn't really been difficult or as scary as she had always made it out to be in her mind. It was actually...very nice.

Candace was so lost dwelling on her thoughts for too long, she forgot to respond to Kasey, who spoke up again. "It's nice to be around people where it doesn't matter to them what my GPA was or if have a degree or not. I can't even fathom goin' back home and telling someone I own a ranch, and am basically just a farm boy."

"But y-you're not just a farmer, Kasey. You're a lot m-more than that."

"Yeah, I am. And you're way more than just a girl who can knit."

The flip-flops in Candace's stomach halted as all the lights fizzled again, and went out for good.


	6. Buttoned Up

Luna would run away from big dogs, Kathy wouldn't go near a snake, and Julius had told her once about the nightmares he'd have about "Mom Jeans".

Everybody was scared of  _something_ ; they wouldn't be human if they weren't.

Still, Candace couldn't help but feel she was overreacting. Internally, at least. On the outside, she kept herself reasonably composed as she helped Kasey hunt for a flashlight.

She was knelt behind the cash register, while Kasey was sitting on the floor in front of sewing machine table, both of them opening and closing drawers in the search for that elusive flashlight, when he asked: "Where's your grandmother?"

All Candace could find were spools of thread in colors they never used, lots and lots of spare closure hooks, and her collection of pretty and unique buttons. "Oh, um, she's pr-probably still over at the Ocarina Inn. Yolanda and h-her had the idea to sew little fish appliques on all the napkins for the wedding."

"Huh, cool." Kasey replied, though Candace could barely hear him over him rummaging around in the drawers.

"Why?"

"No, I was just wondering. I didn't want to leave you here alone, not with the power out like this." The rain hammered the roof with even more fury, the wind howling unrelentingly. Kasey swore under his breath as chips of hail entered the mix, pelting the windowpane.

"I-I wouldn't want you to leave a-anyway...I mean! Because it's raining so hard, I wouldn't want you to catch a cold or something. I'm n-not scared of-"

She let out a gasp as lightning lit up the dimmed building, bright as day. Thunder followed shortly thereafter, a merciless booming that seemed to cause the entire building to vibrate. Candace hoped wherever Luna was, she was safe.

"Found it!" Kasey exclaimed over the rumbling as a beam of light lanced through the grey, lifeless store, and shone onto the cash register. He grinned as he rushed over behind the counter, sitting down on the floor beside her and pointing the light straight up under his chin. The artificial light illuminated his grin in a splash of abnormal tints: reds and yellow-oranges, but both his smile and hand drooped when he saw Candace was nowhere near as excited over his discovery.

He set the flashlight down so it was perched on the bottom shelf of the counter, and covered the whole area behind the register in a dusty glow. "This isn't so bad, see? Actually it's kind of like camping. Except without the mosquitoes."

Candace looked down at the bin of buttons in her hands and nodded, forcing a small smile. It really wasn't too bad; the storm felt very far away now, with Kasey so close to her. The shivers that had rippled through her, however, were still there, and more intense than ever.

"What's all that?" Kasey leaned forward slightly, peering down into the sea of buttons.

"Um, nothing really. J-Just buttons we don't have any use f-for," she lied. Only Luna and Grandma knew about her button collection. Luna thought it was a waste of time and space, while Grandma just told to make sure they didn't find their way onto the floor.

"Can I see 'em?"

"S-Sure, I gu—"

Kasey stole the box from her and set it on his own lap, proceeding to claw his hand through the buttons, his fingers acting like a sieve as he picked up a heaping handful and let them fall through like coins.

"Heh, these are kind of cool." Remaining in his palm were two buttons: a glossy red tomato-shaped one, and a bulkier metal one, capped in a purple-and-red tweed fabric. "Where'd you get them?"

"From the catalogue where we order a-all our supplies." Candace reached over cautiously and plucked out a plastic daisy button. She had a bunch of buttons shaped like flowers; they made her think of Luna and to wish she could create an outfit with them, just for her sister.

"Wait, so you  _order_ buttons you don't use?" Kasey laughed airily, fishing out more that appealed to him. "That's a little... weird."

"Well, I want to use them!" Candace's eyes widened for a split-second, surprised at herself for sounding so determined. It didn't feel bad though, not one bit. It actually felt... liberating. "Julius told me that style is a-about personalization and I thought... all of these buttons remind me of the people here on Castanet Island. I thought if I ever make something for them, I could use these..."

"Have you used any of them yet?" Kasey asked, though he sounded as if he already knew the answer.

"N-No, I... I don't know. I don't know if they'd like having something stick out l-like—" Candace picked out several tiny black-and-white spotted buttons, a cow-print. "I wanted to use these on Renee's dress. B-But I thought, it's her wedding dress. I shouldn't make it about myself."

"Well, if it was  _my_ wedding dress, I'd totally want you to put your own touch on it." Kasey smiled at her, lazily running his hand back and forth through the buttons, making a rhythmic skittering noise.

"Really? I-I mean, thank y-you. I actually have one that-" Candace stopped, her breath stalling.

Oh, darn it, there she went again, just babbling in front of Kasey. This was an opportunity though, one she would likely not another of have any time soon with how busy Kasey was everyday. A season ago she would have just clammed up, stood, and walked away, the embarrassment of Kasey's compliment too much to handle.

But that was the Candace of old. As much as her instincts screamed at her to get out while she still could, an imaginary Luna overpowered them.  _"Give yourself a chance, Candace!"_ And for the first time she could remember, she actually  _wanted_ to do just that.

"I have one th-that makes me think of you." Which was a stretch of the truth because she definitely had more than just  _one_. "W-Would you like to see it?" She smiled hopefully, her hands already hovering inches over the bin.

"Sure!"

Easily the largest button in her collection, Candace found it within seconds. It was heavy and brass, a lot like one of the buttons on Captain Pascal's blazer. Only instead of an anchor, or eagle, like most military buttons, it was embossed with a bell.

"This one." She handed it to Kasey, who brought it closer to his eyes, to better examine it. "See, because of the—"

"The bell..." he finished quietly, mouth drawing into a lopsided smile as he turned it over and over between his fingers.

"Yes!" Candace instinctively scooched closer to Kasey, thrilled that he knew exactly why she'd chosen it. "I wanted t-to make you a hat with it... for your birthday. You know, one of those military-style hats, that have a strap and a button on the side? But I've never m-made one of those and I didn't want to mess it up... I mean, since it'd be a gift."

"Please. Like I'd know if you made a mistake on it. Unless you like, accidentally made it into a sombrero." He nudged her gently with his elbow. "Hey, do you think you  _could_ make me a sombrero? I bet I could rock the heck out of that!"

"Would y-you really want me to make you something with that? Um, not a sombrero though." Her eyes traveled between Kasey's eyes and the button in his hand.

"Well. I would, yeah. But I guess you couldn't make me anything with it in time for tomorrow, right? It'd be nice to have something new to liven up my old crappy suit. Not that I care too much, but Selena has a new dress and everything. I should probably look presentable, at least."

Kasey tossed the button to himself repeatedly.  _Does he ever sit still?_ Candace asked herself. It was cute, in her opinion.

"No... not unless you can think of s-something that's only a few strings. With the power out, it'd h-have to be by hand, so I really can't. And I'm sure y-you'll look fine..." Why did it seem like every time Candace spoke, that Kasey was closer and closer to her? She hooked a finger into the collar of her blouse, as it suddenly felt very constricting and warm around her neck.

"Hey, that's it!" Kasey was looking right at the hand at her neck. "Here, make me a necklace!" He held the button out to her and she took it automatically.

"A-A necklace? Are you sure? I mean, shouldn't you ask Julius, or Mira...? I'm not any good at-"

"I don't need it all decked out with silver and jewels. Just thread some yarn through there and I'm good to go. Besides, I want  _you_ to make it for me. That way when your special-button line of clothes becomes famous, I can say I had the first ever piece!" The container with all the different-colored spools was directly next to the flashlight under the counter, and Kasey nodded in its direction. "Do you have any red? That'll go with it, right? Or, I don't even care if it does, it's my favorite color."

Candace just couldn't say refuse, nor could she suppress a wide smile. She crawled over and rooted around in the bin until she found a spool of bright cherry-red and a stray needle (one of dozens, if not hundreds floating around the shop).

Within no more than three minutes, Candace had several strands of thread woven securely around each other, and was carefully tying small knots on either end, with enough excess string to add a closure of some type.

"Here." She held it up for Kasey to see, and the brass button slid to the center, weighing down. "I-It's really not hard at all, I'm sure even you could have made it. Not that I don't think you can't sew, of course! Um..."

"Candace, I can't sew at  _all_. I can barely tie my own shoes. See?" He bunched up the leg of his pants, revealing his boots and their laces, which were mangled and dirty from being tread on constantly.

Stifling a giggle behind her fist, Candace realized it was the only sound that could be heard.

"It stopped raining!" she breathed out, disbelief coupled with sheer joy.

Kasey put aside the buttons, stood up, and crossed over to the window at the front of the shop, the one overlooking the dress rack. He ducked under the dresses, stepped up onto the base of the rack and budged the window open. Locking both hands onto the bar of the rack, he pressed up onto his toes and strained forward to poke his head out the window.

"'Bout time!" He called back to Candace, extending his body further so that he was out the window from the chest up. "I thought I'd see Chase leave Maya at the stove unattended before I ever saw the sun again."

Candace giggled to herself again, putting the finishing touch on Kasey's necklace by securing a claw clasp tight on the end of the string.

"K-Kasey, your necklace..." she gripped it tightly by the string with both hands, and walked over closer to where he was. "It's done..."

He glanced back over his shoulder, then hopped down off the rack and maneuvered back around it. "Alright, hook me up!" Stationing himself in front of Candace, he slid a hand to the back of his head, raking his hair out of the way to expose his neck.

"Y-You want m-me to...?" This was not  _fair_ at all! Part of Candace wanted to comply to Kasey's request, part of her wanted to refuse and just shove it into his hand and tell him to do it himself because what if she broke it or accidentally clipped his neck! and all of her wanted to faint. But she took a deep breath, and nodded, not that he could see her. "O-Okay."

She managed to get the necklace looped around his neck, and was fumbling with the clasp for a few impossibly long seconds when the door swung open and a very familiar voice interrupted.

"Um,  _what_ is this?"

Candace froze, hands still up at Kasey's neck. Luna was glaring at them from the entrance.

"Luna! I thought y-you were at the carpentry!" The paralysis that had struck her receded, and Candace let her arms fall back to her sides. Kasey's necklace fell from around his neck, but he caught it against his chest.

"I  _was_ , but not very long. It didn't take long to explain to Bo what he should wear tomorrow. It's actually really easy to talk to him when Luke's not there to get in the way. Then I just went down to the Ocarina Inn to see Grandma, and that's when the storm hit." Luna's eyes kept shifting to Kasey, who Candace could tell was waiting for the opportune moment to say something sarcastic to her. "But stop trying to change the subject! I was  _worried_ about you, I know how much you hate storms. Are you okay?"

"She's fine!" Kasey answered before Candace even got a chance to open her mouth. "She had a big, tough guy here to protect her." He flexed an arm in a mock display of strength.

Luna blinked at him, unamused. "Well, when you see that guy, tell him 'thank you' for me. And what the heck did you do to your arm?"

"This?" Kasey gestured to his bandage, as if it was nothing more everyday than a watch. "Oh, a bear mauled me."

"Ohmigosh!" Luna's hand flew to her lips in faux concern. "Is the bear okay?"

"Ha. Ha."

"Why thank you!" Luna dipped into a curtsey, beaming. "I do think I'm quite witty."

Kasey waved her off. "You're  _rude,_ is what you are. I could have died, you know."

"Your face is rude. I'm surprised the bear didn't just drop dead looking at it."

"Lu _na_!" Candace pleaded, wringing her hands. Even though Kasey didn't seem fazed by any of Luna's barbs, and seemed to actually quite enjoy the banter, Candace still didn't like to hear her sister say such things.

"I should get going anyway," Kasey told the two of them, before speaking just to Candace. "I think I'll go show Selena this awesome necklace you made." He held it up between his thumb and forefinger for Luna to see.

"You go do that." Luna said, hand on her hips, eyes narrowed at him and tapping her foot impatiently.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Candace. Which means I'll probably see you too, Luna. Later."

Candace stuttered out a goodbye and watched Kasey leave, her head a mess of hope and embarrassment and bliss and what-if's and every other emotion, even ones she didn't know existed.

* * *

Luna gave Candace no chance to recuperate from the whirlwind day, dragging her to their bedroom and peppering her with questions the second Kasey was gone. Candace answered them to the best of her ability, reassuring her sister Kasey hadn't tried to do anything physical or even been suggestive with her. She told Luna about most of their conversation at Choral Clinic, and about the necklace and how he suggested she run with her idea of customizing outfits for her friends.

"Why didn't you tell  _me_  about that, Candace? That's a great idea!" Luna bounced up and down on her bed, and Candace could almost see the wheels turning nonstop in her sister's mind, her eyes brightening as she clapped her hands together. "You know, when I took classes in the city, we learned about this shoe designer whose shoes all had red soles. It was his signature, and put him on the map. I think it'd be a  _great_ foundation for a special line!"

"You said y-you thought the buttons were a waste of space..."

"Duh, I just thought you were collecting them for no reason. I mean, I've been trying to think of  _something_ we could incorporate to make our clothes stand out, and customization like that just might be the thing to get us started!" Luna picked up her stuffed rabbit, squeezing it to herself around its neck. If it were alive, it probably would have been strangled to death.

"I-I just want to make people h-happy though, it's not a-about becoming famous..." Candace replied softly, but with a smile. It was true, what she said; fame and fortune was Luna's dream, not hers. Still, being given the chance to team up with her sister on something that could achieve both their goals was like a wish come true.

"Tell you what, how about on Saturday we sit down and draw up some outfits using your buttons?"

"R-Really? Oh, and I cut out some pictures from Irene's magazines too, I bet those would help!"

"Ugh, you know what, let's just start now. There's nothing  _else_ to do, with no electricity." Throwing her rabbit aside, Luna snatched up a sketchbook and pencil from the nightstand between their beds, and hopped down onto the floor. "C'mon!"

* * *

For something she had been dreading only twenty-four hours ago, Candace remained calm and clear-headed while getting ready for the wedding the next morning. The brainstorming session between her and Luna paid off, with Luna using the flower-shaped buttons to design a cute capelet sweater she liked so much, she was thinking about sending the sketch into her former fashion school teacher for a second opinion.

The electricity had returned as well, but it was unneeded with the day finally beginning on a sunny note, with the rays gleaming off the leftover raindrops sprinkled on the windowpane.

Having already changed into her dress, Candace absentmindedly stroked a hand through her hair as she ate her breakfast of herb bread and eggs, waiting for Luna and Grandma to finish getting ready. Luna had convinced her to untie it from its usual billowy pigtails, and it cascaded down over her shoulders in loose waves. Candace drew the line at make-up though, even though Luna promised she'd only dab a little bit of mascara and lip gloss on. She never much did like the feel of make-up; it was always so sticky or cakey and made her face itch.

A knock at the door caused her to almost choke on her orange juice mid-sip. Who could that be, it was only 9:00! Nobody other than the wedding party was going to arrive at Celesta Church for another half-hour. Luna had agreed to meet Bo there, and there was no way Julius was here early; he was always "fashionably late" (even though Luna argued that he was just too dumb to read a watch).

She wiped errantly at her mouth, compulsively tugging at her dress as she hurried over to answer the door.

It wasn't Julius, or Bo, or even (she had hoped) Kasey. It was Selena.

A knot rose into Candace's throat as she tried and failed to greet the dancer, who was even more intimidating than usual, wrapped in a beautiful strapless navy blue dress with lilies splashed all over it.

Selena smiled mischievously, her arms crossed under the ruched-together bust of her dress, accentuating her curves and leaving Candace subconsciously hugging herself to cover her own chest.

"Oh, Candace. Just the person I wanted to see!~"


	7. Poor Reception

Kasey had shown Selena the necklace Candace had made him. Kasey had mentioned how Candace would be able to repair her torn wrap, even better than new. And she couldn't wait to see what  _Kasey_  looked like in the navy suit he was going to be wearing to the wedding.

Candace didn't get more than a few words in. Not because she didn't have the chance to; Selena gave her several meaningful pauses and pointed looks, chances for Candace to voice her opinion. But Candace remained tight-lipped, only murmuring faintly in agreement to Selena's clearly positive judgement of Kasey.

Their "conversation" moved from Sonata Tailors to Selena's bedroom at the Brass Bar, where the damaged wrap in question lay in a silky wad on Selena's unmade bed.

Candace sat down on the bed with her tiny travel sewing kit, and picked up the gauzey purple-and-gold material. Selena stood across the room, humming a tune to herself as she dug through her jewelry box in search of the finishing touches to her outfit.

"Which do you think, Candace?" Selena turned around with her hands raised to each ear, holding two different earrings. One was a jangly chain of small gold medallions, the other a long teardrop-shaped Lapus Lazuli. "Then again, I bet it won't make any difference; as if Kasey'll even notice. You know how men are, right?~"

"I... ow!" Candace immediately stuck her finger to her lips, sucking the spot she'd just accidentally pricked.

Selena threw aside the gold earring and snatched up the partner to the Lapus Lazuli, hastily securing them to her lobes. "Hm, I guess the blue ones! They won't get in the way as much when we dance! I can't  _wait_ to dance at the wedding, how about you?"

"Dancing...?" The word sounded foreign to Candace. "I don't think I'll be doing any d-dancing."

"But what if Julius asks you to dance? Are you just going to  _turn him down_?" Selena asked, her purple eyes trained intently on Candace, like a tigress circling her prey.

Afraid Selena's intense stare would pierce into her thoughts, Candace shifted her gaze to the floor, to her feet in their crisp white vinyl flats, and tried to envision them moving in any sort of rhythm, however slowly. It actually seemed like it might be fun, to dance, even with Julius, but she had no confidence that this could be accomplished. Surely she'd just clumsily stumble about and stamp on his polished shoes, and ruin his day.

Candace lifted her eyes but not her head. "U-Um, I guess I would just tell him—"

"What if  _Kasey_  asks you to dance?" Selena's thin-lipped wisp of a smile split into a knowing grin. "Because I'm sure he will."

"H-He... what?" Candace didn't want to,  _couldn't_ , believe what Selena was saying. She had to be playing a mean trick, and was just teasing Candace because she had some sort of feelings for Kasey as well. And yet, Candace's mind instantly flickered to the image of her standing close to Kasey while slow, warm music drifted around them.

Her body inches from his, his hands on her waist and hers at his shoulders, their breaths close enough they'd mix if either of them spoke; her head was hazy and her heart juttered in her chest at the sheer thought of it. But not out of fear, out of the idea that it was inevitable she'd, in some way, destroy anything remotely romantic about the scene.

But because she  _did_ want it.

"Kasey? W-Well, I think..if he asked m-me, it'd only be polite to... dance with him. Here." She presented Selena with her repaired wrap. "It was only a small t-tear. I c-could show you how to fix it in case it'd ever rip again."

Selena knotted the wrap around her bell-like hips, and gave them a little shake, sending the fabric whishing about. "Hm, you know what I think? I think  _you_  should ask Kasey to dance. _"_

"I don't think I could d-do that!"

"Oh, that's too bad." Selena didn't sound as if she thought that was too bad in the least. "Because he obviously likes you. But..." An impatient sigh. "If you're not going to even bother asking him to dance, I wouldn't think you'd ask him out. I think  _I_  will, then. And let me just say that I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve that will guarantee he'll say 'yes'."

Candace could see Selena's reflection in the mirror; her eyes dazzling with triumph behind their painted lids, her lips curled slyly. She didn't dare question Selena's confidence, despite Kasey's assurance he only viewed her as a friend. Selena could bewitch any man with a bat of her lengthy lashes, a spin of her curvaceous figure, a throaty purr into their ear.

Candace was... Candace.

And somehow, now, knowing she was simply Candace did not seem the worst thing in the world anymore, not by far.

She stood, and hastened to the door. Before slipping out, she turned back to Selena  _("Quit it with the defeatist attitude, Candace!"_ ), and with a fractional crease of her eyebrows (so she would!) _,_ the words sailed from her mind and off her tongue.

"I just w-want you to know...I didn't say for sure I wouldn't ask him!"

* * *

Renee's lilting laugh carried through the clear Summer air as she and Toby accepted hugs and congratulations from each of the villagers. Beside her, her new husband's faded features seemed to radiate under the glow of both the occasion and her sparkling smile.

Candace sighed wistfully, her chin propped in the hollow of her hand as she sat at her table, waiting for the line to peter out and the reception dinner to begin. She'd hurried to be first to extend her well-wishes to her two friends; to happily tell them, with tear-sheeted eyes, that she was so overjoyed they'd found love in one another.

The sadness plaguing her only a couple days ago, over the idea that Renee hadn't acknowledged her being the designer and creator of her wedding dress seemed so long ago, almost another life; it didn't matter to her one bit anymore. She only recalled it because of the contrast she now felt, truly inspired by the genuine love emanating between Toby and Renee.

Then Julius sat down beside her, with a wild flip of his even-more-styled-than-normal hair, and set down a half-empty flute of wine at his space.

"Oh, Candace!~" he chirped, scooching his chair closer to hers. She could smell his cologne—or was it perfume? She wasn't sure. "Did I show you my tie?" He took the gold-threaded accessory—the one he'd been obsessively flattening and fixing during the wedding ceremony— between his fingers and lifted it proudly, not bothering to wait for Candace's answer. "Isn't it  _divine_?"

"I-It's very... fitting for you, Julius." She gave him a timid smile, and tried not to focus too much on the voices coming from table positioned diagonally behind theirs, where she could hear Kasey and Selena talking with Dale and Luke.

"Mmm, I'm glad you think so! But I knew you would, you have such a great eye~" Julius's eyelids lowered—Candace wanted to believe it was from the alcohol he'd consumed—and he tilted his head in towards hers.

A tiny hand came between the two and wrenched the tie from Julius's hold. He made a noise halfway between a gag and a gasp as the tie suddenly tightened around his neck.

"Don't even think about." A glowering Luna, wearing a creamy-blue, pointelle lace-edged sundress, was as intimidating as ever. She gave it an extra yank before letting go, finally allowing Julius the chance to breathe—which he did, heavily and dramatically.

"Luna..." Cautiously, Bo steered her away from Julius and to their seats, which were on the opposite side of the table. He looked as uncomfortable as Candace currently felt, in a dark blue suit that didn't quite fit him. Too broad in the shoulders, too long at the sleeves – it probably belonged to Luke and was only being worn by Bo based on demands from Luna that they try and match.

The cheerful chatter of the other guests filled the air and Candace pleaded silently, as she glanced around from a flustered Julius to her restless sister to an anxious Bo, that it would soak away the tension hovering over them.

"A- _HEM_ ~!" Maya squealed loudly over the hum of the guests, her lavender ballet flats bobbing her up and down on the stone pavement of the church plaza. Her fingers were interlaced so tightly that her whole upper body was shaking with giddiness and anticipation, and she cleared her throat in a theatrical manner, and exclaimed: "The  _wedding meal—"_ She snuck a peek over at the table where Toby and Renee sat with their families, slapping the palms of her still-connected hands together, and inhaled down another squeak of delight. "—will now CONDENSE!"

"Commence..." an exasperated male voice interrupted in a dull monotone, from not far behind Maya, at the banquet table positioned in the area east of the church.

"Oh, right. Thanksies, Chase!" Maya's cheeks tinged a rosy color and she swiveled shyly in place before continuing. "The wedding meal will now  _commence_! In other words:  _Let's EAT_ ~!"

The banquet table consisted of several tables from Ocarina Inn set together, draped in a beautiful, yellow-trimmed, silk tablecloth that bore Toby and Renee's initials, framed in a cross-stitched heart, on the corners. Yolanda shuffled back and forth as the guests filed through, keeping an eagle-eye on what needed to be refilled, and when. Assisting her was Colleen, who poured out the beverages at the end of the line, while Chase busied himself shadowing Maya and making sure she was actually serving the seafood risotto and paella he'd taken all day to prepare and not sneaking tastes of it for herself.

Candace nibbled at her meal, and stopped eating altogether, when the faraway tune of an old love ballad began piping through the air; the church organ. She recalled being pleased for Phoebe when, last week while choosing her dress, the inventor had gabbled on about the fact that she'd managed to tinker with the organ to make it play automatically, on a timer.

Hushed captivation rolled through the reception, as the music grew steadily louder, just begging to be danced along to. The first song ended, and something decidedly more modern, but still romantic, took its place. Some of the couples were poised to step foot out into the open square, except there was a minor obstacle impeding them, one that soon enough all eyes were locked onto: Toby and Renee had to be the first dance. It  _couldn't_  be any other way.

"C'mon!" Luke pounded his fist onto the table, rattling through the silence. Dale gave him a backhand swat to the shoulder, but he was undeterred. "Dance with your woman, Toby!"

Everyone else whistled and cheered in agreement, and the young couple exchanged smiles that could have been construed as embarrassment, but Candace could tell it was more of a disbelief; that they couldn't have dreamt up this moment in their lives being so wonderful, but here, with each other, it was.

Toby stood, and proffered his hand to Renee, who accepted. Candace watched with fondness as they glided together about the open plaza, as though they were one person. She heard Luna sigh dreamily beside her as the song concluded and Toby dipped his head in to give Renee a kiss on the cheek, then hugged her close.

More couples took to the dance floor, while others found their way to the banquet table, which had been converted into an open bar complete with a giant crystal punch bowl.

"Ooo!~" Julius spotted the growing crowd at the bar and took hold of his empty wine glass. "Anyone  _else_ need a refill? Candace?"

"I-I'm fine, thank you..." She smiled weakly, her gaze fixed past Julius, on Kathy with her head resting on Owen's shoulder as they casually swayed in place to the music.

As Julius sauntered off, Selena stood up at the table behind them. She wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but Candace quite clearly heard Selena tell Kasey she'd be back in just a moment and  _then_ they could dance. Luke's chair made a loud scraping noise as he too bolted out of his seat and followed after Selena.

She immediately understood this might be her only chance. Craning back, she was prepared to call for Kasey, only to find his eyes were already on her.

"Can I join you?" He nodded towards her table, his hair loosely sweeping over his brow as he did.

Candace felt her lips form the word "yes" but wasn't sure if she actually said it.

Regardless, Kasey dragged his chair closer so that he was off to the side of Bo. He leaned his head in over Bo's shoulder, grinning widely. A faint blush spread over Candace's face as their eyes made the briefest contact.

"You guys having a good time?"

Bo, who'd been listening to Luna talk about her time at fashion school in the city, startled, then realizing who it was, rubbed at his neck sheepishly. "Oh, hey Kase. Yeah..." his eyes flitted over to Luna then back to his plate of mushed-up risotto. "A good time."

"Until you showed up." Luna sniffed disapprovingly.

Kasey just rolled his eyes, but Bo's head jerked up. "Really?"

"Mm, well..." Luna pursed her lips thoughtfully. "It could be better; I've been doing all the talking, Bo. But..." She threw a sidelong glare at Kasey. "It could be  _much_ worse."

"Like what? Like Bo'd have to  _dance_ with you?" Kasey shivered and wiped at his arms as though something was crawling over them, complete with a disgusted "eeeurgh!"

"Um, excuse you, I'm a fine dancer, thank you very much. Unlike some people I know who  _just_ learned how to walk upright."

"Sure, sure." Kasey disregarded her and nudged Bo playfully with his elbow. "You're the bravest person I know; working alongside Luke and now dancing with Luna? That takes guts."

"I'm...dancing with Luna?" Bo tugged at the knot of his tie, and swallowed thickly.

"Yes." Luna snapped, rising to her feet and grabbing Bo's hand. "You are. C'mon."

"Good luck!" Kasey shouted over to Bo as the two departed, earning one final scowl from Luna.

Upon Luna and Bo being out of earshot, Kasey turned his attention to Candace. He was slouched back in his chair, one arm hanging over the back lazily, and his mouth was quirked into a crooked, impish smile. He took Bo's unused spoon between two fingers and twirled it around, seemingly unaware of Candace's presence there at the table, until:

"Candace?"

"Y-Yes?" She gave him a quick glance, with what she hoped was a smile, and brushed her hair from her face with a shaky hand.

"You look amazing."

She had to remind herself to breathe; her heart drummed a tattoo in her chest.

"Thank you, Kasey. Y-You look very.. .nice, too." This time she forced herself not to look away until she said what she wanted to, what she  _had_ to. "Kasey? I was wondering if you'd like to—"

A horrified shriek sliced through Candace's question; a shriek belonging to one person, and one person only.

"Y-you... ** _You!_** " Julius's voice stole the attention of the entire village, all eyes honing in on the refreshment table, where he stood frozen, save for his mouth parted, chin trembling as though he were verging on tears. His arms hung out to either side dangling like broken wings, and his eyes were wide and swirling with incredulity and unadulterated anger. The chest of his tan suit was sopping wet, a shapeless blossom of red setting deeper and deeper into his tie and silk dress shirt.

Opposite him was Luke, also stock still, eyes dilated in fear. In his quivering hand was a glass of punch, almost empty, save for a swallow's worth sloshing around. Selena was beside him, hand cupped over her mouth in shock.

"Dude, I'm so sorry!" Luke smacked his free hand to his forehead and took a step towards Julius. "I'll buy you a new one!"

"You can't just  _buy_ another one of these!" Julius let out another cry of dismay, and clutched one of his hands to his shirt, as though he thought he could just claw away the stain. Then he fled from the scene, his other hand brought up to cover his face.

Both Candace and Kasey stared with slackened mouths as Julius vanished down the plaza steps into Harmonica Town.

"K-Kasey, I'm sorry, I... have to..." She choked out, incredibly worried for Julius's sanity. "I have to make sure he's..."

"It's okay," he murmured, though the frown he was now wearing betrayed his words. "Go, go. Make sure he doesn't throw himself off the lighthouse or whatever."

"C-Can you come by the shop later, please?" Candace stood and smoothed down her dress.

"Yeah... I could do that, yeah." Kasey nodded, and Candace was heartened that he sounded, maybe, pleasantly surprised she'd asked.

She hurried to the steps, and tossed one last glimpse back at a visibly disappointed Kasey; Selena had come to sit beside him, her hand massaging his shoulder.


	8. The Truth of the Matter

As they'd gotten dressed that morning, Luna had commented how Candace resembled Cinderella, with her transformation from lackluster and forgettable to jaw-droppingly stunning.

And right now, she did indeed feel very much like Cinderella. Pre-Fairy Godmother.

She tried not to sneeze as flyaway wisps of her hair tickled her eyes and nose—she'd spun it up into a sloppy pile that Luna would have had a conniption fit over—and attempted to ignore the water dripping down her angled arms onto and around her bare feet. And she didn't even want to  _begin_ to think how many times over she'd have to wash her hands to get out the acerbic scent caused by the mixture of wet spotter, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol she was using to clean Julius's shirt.

"Any luck?~" Julius appeared in the doorway of the washroom, looking strangely ordinary in his tan slacks—the only surviving piece from Luke's accidental fruit punch assault—and a cornflower blue polo shirt he'd just purchased from the shop.

"Your suit jacket will have to be sent to a dry cleaner on the mainland, b-but your shirt—come here, Julius, see." Candace motioned him over with a damp hand, and he sidled up next to her at the wash basin. Even though she was focusing on his shirt and not his expression, she heard Julius's soft gasp of delight when he saw his beloved shirt showed no residual scars from what he'd feared was a fatal blow.

She chanced a small smile up at him, and he returned it with one of his own. "Hand me that towel, please?" Nodding to the fluffy one she'd set aside on a nearby table, she gently spread the shirt out on the drying rack, taking care to smooth out the sleeves.

"It's almost as good as new, i-it'll just smell a little funny for a few washes." A still-grinning Julius held out the towel for her, and she took it from him, folding a section around her hand and pressing it firmly to the stain, once, then a few times more.

"Candace, dear, you're a lifesaver!" Julius circled his long arms around her waist, pulling her into a loose hug. The contact happened so quickly that Candace didn't even have time to process it before Julius dropped his arms away. She couldn't stop her smile from growing wider, though it had nothing to do with the display of affection from Julius.

She'd genuinely made someone happy. It really didn't feel like she'd conquered some impossible task, nowhere near as difficult as she'd told herself it was all these years, and she couldn't help but think that the encouragement she'd received from Luna and Kasey over the past few days was part of the reason she was able to accept Julius's gratitude.

It was easy to say as much. "You're w-welcome. But I really don't think you would have died, Julius..."

"No, no. I meant Luke. Now I don't have to kill him." Julius replied nonchalantly, like homicide was the perfectly reasonable reaction to anyone ruining his clothing.

Forcing a polite chuckle and quickly stowing the cleaning supplies in their appropriate cabinet, she tried to redirect the conversation away from such an unpleasant topic. "Um, Julius, did you want anything to eat or drink? Not fruit punch, of course."

"Mm, no, that's quite all right, but—" He padded gently at his cheeks with his fingertips. "My goodness, all that sun, I can feel my pores drying out! You wouldn't happen to have any moisturizer, hm?~"

As long as Candace had known Julius, it was still hard to keep up with his sudden demands. "Well, um, there's some in my room but I don't know if Luna would want you—"

"Oh, wonderful~!" Julius immediately bolted out of the washroom to the front of the store, through to the kitchen, and shoved open the door leading to the bed rooms, with Candace trailing at his heel the whole way.

"Julius! You really shouldn't b-be back here!" She lamely reached for Julius's arm as he leaned over the vanity the sisters shared and reached for the jar of cucumber cold cream. It wasn't the first time Julius had been in her room, but it was the first time that he'd been there while no one else was in the residence.

When he unscrewed a lid, a glop of the cream landed centimeters from the sketchbook that Candace and Luna had added several new patterns to the previous night. "Oh, tish-tosh, why not!" He was already dabbing at his cheeks with the cream, facing the mirror the entire time and frowning exaggeratedly as he massaged it in.

Candace caught a glimpse of her own reflection, and hastily removed her hair tie, allowing her hair to tumble back down. At the edge of the vanity where she stood was a small seashell tray overflowing with Luna's various hair-clips and pins. She extracted one resembling a wire butterfly, its wings translucent beads of orange and yellow, and twirled it around and around in her fingers as she tried to piece her words together, that it wouldn't sound as silly as it did in her head right now.

"Y-You're... well, you're a boy, a-and..." Her sentence died with a bite of her lip, and she realized there was no way she could form her explanation without giving herself a little too much credit. Even if she didn't think she was  _completely_ undesirable anymore, to be so insinuating about herself and Julius would be more than a little inappropriate, and probably even laughable, from his end.

Julius straightened up, turning a fraction so he was facing her, only inches away. Slowly, deliberately, he withdrew the butterfly pin from her hold, and rotated it back and forth between his thumb and forefinger. "And you're a very lovely young lady, is that it?"

The beads caught the sun's rays and threw them about the room like tiny darts. It'd been so very plain just sitting there in the tray but, here in the right light, it was beautiful.

"Yes!... I mean! Thank you, but... I... I don't know about 'very lovely' ...o-or even lovely at all, but—"

"You are." Julius spoke over her. "Candace, honey, listen. There was a time when... where, yes, perhaps you and I in this situation—alone together, in a bedroom, even—would have been unbearably tempting for me." He took a deep breath, exhaled, the slow smirk he'd been wearing nearly all day disappearing as his expression turned apologetic, and he didn't continue.

"And now it's not," she finished, so he wouldn't have to. So she wouldn't have to actually hear it from him, though she couldn't imagine he enjoyed the idea of having to say it any more than she would having to hear it.

"No, no, not anymore." Gently, he used his free hand to tuck back a section of Candace's hair, and slid in the butterfly to capture it behind her ear. Julius's hands were so smooth, gliding like freshly-spun silk. Not repelling in the least but Candace couldn't help to mentally compare them to how rough but secure Kasey's were, and her face warmed at the thought of them brushing her skin.

"I didn't think you  _ever_  d-did." She drew her hand to her head, carefully traced the outline of the butterfly. "Y-You weren't very kind to me, Julius."

"Yes, well, I... I have a tendency to tease those I like the most – I'm not quite sure why, but I've been told that many boys act that way. When they like a girl, that is. Anyway, I just—I suppose I sort of..." He fluttered his fingers in the air, as if those past instances could disappear so easily. "I moved on, when I realized I'd gone about it all wrong—I'm  _very_  sorry for that, by the way—and that really, we worked better as friends. As a couple, we'd go together about as well as socks with sandals, hm?"

This was almost surreal. She was being rejected, romantically, but that hardly mattered, made her react emotionally in any way. The Candace from a few years, even a few seasons ago, would have been devastated to know that a boy, even one she'd never had true, evolved feelings for, like Julius, had once been interested in her but now no longer was.

She would have selfishly sobbed about it, with the thought he was her one and only chance at love and she'd passed it by, with no regard to the reasoning behind, and not caring about the fact that Julius still viewed her as a friend, or about how tremendously regretful he was about his actions.

All she saw in front of her now  _was_  that friend, one of her best friends, being uncharacteristically open and serious, and needing someone's friendship in return.

"But why are you telling me this now?" Candace dropped down onto her bed, smoothing her dress out beneath her legs as she did so.

"I don't know." Julius turned back to face the vanity mirror, experimenting with unbuttoning the buttons on his polo and flipping the collar up before he addressed Candace again. "Oh, well, I  _do_ feel awful about the things I said. You know, if a certain farmer decides to ask you out, I'd hate for you to reject him simply because some other silly boy said such terrible, no-good, untrue things to you, and made you think weren't good enough."

Candace lifted her head, blinking in surprise at the mention of Kasey, and Julius gave a small chuckle, his own eyes catching hers in the mirror's reflection. "Please, Candace. I know you'd rather be at the wedding right now dancing with Kasey, and not here acting as my own personal maid.~ "

"It... it's okay, Julius. I don't mind. And I didn't mind going w-with you, either. You're my friend. I... I didn't want you to be there alone." One of the most natural smiles she ever smiled emphasized just how much she truly meant that.

His gaze drew downwards, away from her, but his sly smirk remained. "And here I thought it was to save me the embarrassment of being rejected by that charming sister of yours!"

She'd gotten a little better at it over the years, but there were still times Candace had trouble determining if Julius was kidding or not, and the statement about Luna was one of those cases. And in that attempt to decipher his true meaning, she didn't see where Julius's attention had turned to until it was too late, and he had swiped up the sketchpad that lay open on the corner of the dresser.

"Julius! Don't!" Candace sprung up, and quickly closed in on him, reaching for the sketchbook but to no avail. Julius veered it away from her, flipping from one page to the next: outfit after outfit, the several that she and Luna had managed to put on paper last night, the designs she'd dreamt up incorporating her button collection.

The outfit he was currently looking at was a dress, that in Candace's mind was perfect for Phoebe should her friend ever decided to wear another one. A shimmering silver mesh lace resembling wire adorning the tea-length hem, and what at first glance could have been actual machine cogs, but were really just metal buttons, tracking down the back. It was straight out of a science fiction novel, but still elegant enough that it would never be out of place at a formal event.

Last night in the midst of drawing it, she'd thought it unique and inspired, but now, with Julius in an uncharacteristic concentrated silence, she felt she ought to explain herself, even if that explanation was almost completely false. "There wasn't anything t-to do last night, with the electricity out, so L-Luna and I...it was just a few silly ideas I had, don't... don't take them seriously, Julius. I know they're not very good, we were just having a little fun."

Julius ignored her, or maybe he was just so immersed in studying the sketches that he really hadn't paid any mind to what she said. She knew they  _could_  be good, were she given the chance to polish them, but they were certainly not ready to be viewed by Julius's ever-scrutinizing eyes.

Candace stood fraught with anticipation, waiting for Julius to finish. She tried to keep Kasey's words in her mind, that she was so much more than the clothing she created, more than a seamstress. But having someone like Julius, whose opinion she took for more worth than almost anyone else's—and whose opinion was so often very  _critical_ —it was almost too easy to let the worry brewing inside her win out over positive thinking.

Nevertheless, she willed herself to focus on, maybe not the best, but certainly not the worst possible outcome as Julius's countenance remained neutral, unreadable, save for a hum of curiosity and a quirk of his expertly-plucked eyebrow.

He turned to the next page, next design: a beige-colored cardigan Candace had envisioned Chloe wearing, with toggle-loops that fit over bright maple leaf-shaped buttons. A sketch of the sweater's back was scribbled down hastily, but it was apparent it was to feature a huge pile of leaves, and an assortment of abbreviations designated that the leaves would consist of all sorts of warm Autumn tones, and be patched together in a wide array of fabrics: corduroy, tweed, velvet, and more.

After the final design—an apple-print apron with a large collection of pockets and ruffles and matching apple-shaped buttons, that perhaps Colleen or Yolanda could find useful—Julius exhaled loudly, as though he had been holding his breath the whole time, and set the sketchbook back down on the dresser with enough force to rattle the jewelry and trinkets resting upon it. He didn't appear upset or annoyed with what he'd seen. Rather, that he was overwhelmed, having experienced something he was totally unprepared for.

That made it possible for Candace to shove her fear aside long enough to ask what was on her mind. "What... what do you think?"

Which was, she realized as she said it, silly to ask because Julius would have said what he thought whether she had asked or not.

Julius, however, didn't find her question inane in the least, his face the portrait of utter seriousness. "Quite frankly, Candace, I'm appalled! All these gorgeous creations and  _nothing_  for your dearest friend?  _Moi?_ " He pressed a fanned-out hand over his heart, as if it were truly paining him inside.

A pleasant relief swept into Candace's heart. "Y-You... really, you like them?"

"' _Like_ ' them?! They're positively inspired! Why, they're just as good as anything I've seen in magazines, if not better!" Julius tapped a finger on the closed notebook, as if he thought Candace could possibly believe he was talking about another set of drawings, someone else's. "I can't believe you've been holding out on us like this.~"

"It was just... I never really was any good at getting my ideas down on paper, b-but Luna helped. And she said that her teacher from fashion school would know people who might be interested!... I mean, if you... do you really think so, Julius?"

"Heehee, Luna's always got the right idea, doesn't she?" Julius picked up the notebook again, this time handing it to Candace. She hugged it to her chest, a certain realization starting to creep up on her, about just what Julius had meant when he told her he had "moved on."

But that wasn't her business to dwell on right now, or perhaps not even at all; as Julius hadn't pried into her feelings for Kasey, despite clearly being aware of them. She could and would show him the same respect if it was true that he had developed a fascination with Luna.

So she just nodded, which Julius must have taken for much more than just simple agreement, as his reaction was cheerfully clasping his hands together. "Then what are we standing around here for?! Fashion does not  _idle_ , darling."

* * *

Scratchy grey shadows transformed to bold-lined and brightly-filled illustrations under Julius's mindful watch. Almost incessantly he would advise Candace in what instrument would best be used to enhance the texture and shading of each specific article of clothing, and to an outsider—and even Candace herself, were she not so eager to actually work on her designs—Julius may have sounded as harsh and commanding as a drill sergeant. However, Candace found his constant suggestions helpful and even somewhat contagious, that she herself became so engrossed in the task, much as if she were actually sewing together the pieces themselves.

She didn't even notice how late it was until her eyes began to pinch from the darkness stretching itself across the shop at the same leisurely pace the rest of life took during the final days of Summer. With as discordant a note the day had started out on, and tripped along at, Candace had sunken into a warm blanket of contentment.

Julius leaned in to examine the third piece they'd completed, gave an exclamation of approval and that's when everything sped up again, too fast, too sudden.

The loud, angry too-familiar voices overlapping; the front door bursting open and Julius yelping in surprise; Luna and Kasey all but toppling over each other to get inside, both of them notably disheveled in appearance and even more visibly edgy. From their sharpened glares to the insults they threw like knives at one another, there was no trace of the good nature that was normally embedded deep in their banter.

Candace rose from her seat at the kitchen table, equally curious and concerned, and before she could decide how wise it would be to try and mediate whatever the issue was between them, Luna had already shoved Kasey in her direction.

"Do it!" She moved to jam him in the back again, and yet another pink tendril of hair escaped its pin—whatever Kasey had done to offend Luna must have been serious, if Luna wasn't paying the slightest mind to her appearance.

Julius gracefully intervened so he was in between her and Kasey, and carefully placed an arm on Luna's upper arm. "Oh, kitten, why don't you put those claws away and  _come over here—_ " He guided her away from Kasey and towards the kitchen, motioning to the open sketchbook and scattered-about colored pencils, "—and tell me  _all about_  these beautiful creations!"

Luna grumbled, digging her heels down and not allowing Julius drag her away just yet. "You heard me, you… you two-timing crustball!  _Do it!_  Ow! Hey, Julius, stop pinching—ow! I'm not—hey!"

"All right already!" Kasey bit back at her, before blowing a frustrated sigh upward into his rumpled hair. Whether the redness in his face and weariness around his eyes was from the sun, alcohol, or exhaustion of arguing with Luna, Candace wasn't sure, but either way, it morphed into a happier, though no less tired one, when his gaze fell upon her.

With a deep breath, he nodded towards the front door, and she followed at his side, out into town and down to the seawall rail.

Evidently he, like her, wanted to be in a setting that wasn't within earshot of Julius and Luna, and though her nerves were buzzing, she was thankful for the privacy. It would be easier for her to say what she wanted—needed—to say to Kasey.

She just wanted him to say something  _first_.

"Look, Candace, about today—"

When Kasey stopped abruptly, Candace turned her body slightly towards him, saw him shake his head as if he'd messed up a well-rehearsed line. The motion of his head caused Candace to notice, even in the quickly-fading daylight, the outline of the button necklace she'd made him. It hardly complemented his now-unbuttoned navy suit jacket or his now-untucked matching pinstriped dress shirt, just as Candace had believed she didn't complement Kasey himself. But here it was, still dangling on red string around his neck, and here  _he_  was, with her.

His right hand lifted and closed around the rail and while there may have been hundreds of reasons she shouldn't do this, the one reason she  _should_ —because she just  _wanted_  to—was the only one that mattered in that moment. She drew her left hand up, setting it carefully over Kasey's, and gave a small but significant squeeze. And she kept it there.

That threw the switch. Candace could see the whirlwind of emotions storming across Kasey's face in the brief, ringing-loud moments before the dam burst. His fingers hooked up and wove Candace's own into them, as his eyes didn't waver from her.

"Luna screaming at me?" He thumbed back at the shop with his free hand and made a derisive noise. "Yeah, if we go back in there and don't have a date set up, she is going to stab me in the ear with a knitting needle. She knows the whole...  _thing_  about me and Selena and..."

Again, he paused, but when he continued, he gave a half-hearted, disbelieving little laugh. "Geez, I sound mad at  _you_  or something, don't I? Because that's really not it at all."

He told her everything; the truth, he promised, not that Candace expected any less from him. That he'd  _wanted_  to ask her out for a while, but just didn't know how. And when he'd asked his closest female friend, Selena, for advice, she'd taken it upon herself to scheme up a way to get not only Kasey and Candace together, but herself and Luke as well.

Though Kasey's admission sent her heart fluttering, what she most latched to was the fact that he, too, had been nervous, had been confused and unsure - maybe not as much as her, but enough it had plainly affected him.

"I didn't think it'd get all... like this. I didn't know Selena was going to talk to you this morning either! Goddess, I can only imagine what she said to you. I didn't even  _find out_  until she said something to Luna while we were at the wedding, and they got all into it, and of course now Luna's all mad at me too. I'm  _sorry_ , okay, I shoulda just... followed my own advice, quit worrying and just go for it, but I... I mean, it's  _you_ , Candace, I didn't want to screw anything up, and I hope... really hope I didn't."

Letting out another deep sigh, he dropped his hand way from the rail, bringing Candace's with it. He squeezed gently, perhaps a delayed reaction to her gesture, but thrilling to her all the same.

She pulled his hand up, closer to her own heart,and closed her other one around it. "No, you didn't ruin anything, y-you've only made everything better for me, Kasey. That's um... that's why I asked you to come see me, actually. I... had to tell you that. That I like you, a lot, and even when you're not around, just thinking about you makes my day better, and I've never felt that way before, about anyone. And..."

Kasey's hand had slipped from her grip, trailed up to toy with the butterfly Julius had placed in her hair. He was smiling, that same winning, ad-perfect smile she'd fallen for when they first met and since had never been far from her mind. It still made her thoughts snag, tangling them up worse than Luna's first attempt at crocheting a sweater.

So she was through talking, for the time being. She bobbed up on her toes, that she couldn't keep her balance without grasping a hand into the lapel of Kasey's suit jacket, and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. A quiet gasp brushed over her ear, and the amount of pride she felt with herself was so unexpectedly dizzying that she stumbled a bit as she came back flat on the path.

Kasey steadied her, holding firmly to her waist, and Candace huddled close to him, partly for the security it gave her and partly from the urge to make up for all the time she'd lost when she was busy wallowing in self-pity.

She couldn't see his face, but his grin was obvious in his tone. "What did Selena even  _say_  to you?"

He could have meant it rhetorically, that he was just as surprised at her forwardness as she was herself, but then again, it wouldn't be a jump to assume—and justifiably too, with Luna's dramatic reaction—that Selena had said something pretty awful in order for Candace to take so much initiative.

"N-Nothing really horrible, I promise! Only that I'd be too scared to ever ask you out." She had to wriggle a bit in order to look up at him. "Please don't be too mad at her, she  _was_  just trying to help."

"You not asking me out sounds pretty darn horrible, in my opinion."

Giggling, Candace cuddled back up against Kasey. "Th-Then...  _will_  you go out with me?"

The change of season meant a busy week for both Kasey on his ranch, and for Candace at Sonata Tailors, so they decided on the next Friday—a week away, but she honestly didn't mind. She'd waited twenty years for her first date; she could wait a week more.

"Would it be all right if I walked you home?" She didn't want to pull away from Kasey any time soon, but knew she had to, to follow through on her request. "I mean, you've always done that for me, and..."

A loud thumping interrupted her question. The two of them swerved to see, yards away, Julius and Luna scrunched up against the slightly-ajar window of Sonata Tailors. Julius was as ecstatic as if he'd found a designer sweater on sale for half price. Beside him, Luna wore a pained smile that seemed to take a great deal of effort for her to keep pinned up—the corner of her mouth kept twitching, as if she'd developed a nervous tic.

Kasey's arms lifted from around Candace, and he gave the two eavesdroppers a wave, followed by a thumbs-up solely directed at Luna. She pointed her index and middle finger in a V, first at her own narrowed eyes, then jabbing them sternly at Kasey. Again, Kasey's response was another over-exaggerated thumbs-up, to which Luna threw her hands up in exasperation, and stormed away from the window. Julius shrugged, as though to say "What else would you expect?"

Candace looked back at Kasey, to see his elbow bent out, for her to take. "C'mon. Let's get me home."


	9. Dancing on Air

Candace was hardly anxious about her upcoming date with Kasey. In fact, she'd barely had time to become anxious about it since her thoughts were dominated by what Julius had done: following through on his word and, with Luna's permission, mailing in their sketches to Luna's former teacher, who was acquainted with several designers.

Julius had included a letter to Luna's teacher, informing her he had rubbed elbows with some of the designers during his time away from Castanet, that surely they would remember him and understand Candace was not just another hapless wannabe in the fashion world—she had only the most dynamic of influences as one of her dearest friends.

Although Julius had told her to not expect a response right away, by Friday morning Candace was an absolute wreck imagining what she might hear back, if she heard anything at all. And she'd made the mistake of waiting until now to pick out her outfit for her date.

Browsing through her closet to find a somewhat attractive outfit, she couldn't stop from going over the dozens of possibilities—horrible, extremely unlikely, but still  _awful_  possibilities—that had accumulated over the past week.

For every clothing combination she set on her bed, she had a negative  _what_ - _if_  to go with it.

Lavender turtleneck and a tan ankle-length corduroy skirt.  _What if the sketches get lost?_

Shapeless peach-colored gingham dress and white cardigan.  _Or end up getting damaged on the way there?_

Grey floral-print boatneck and long denim skirt.  _Even worse, what if Luna's teacher or Julius's designer friends_ ** _do_**   _look at them... and just point and laugh?_

Julius had told her that even the most prestigious designers face rejection ("That's  _fashion_ , darling"), but imagining a group of strangers standing around a table with her sketches in the center, pointing and cackling at such amateur work? Candace could bear it if she knew it was solely directed at her, as she'd become so  _used_ to rejection over the years that it seldom left her with more than a very sharp, but very temporary pain, much like pricking herself with a needle.

To think that they'd be rejecting Luna and Julius too? Without their encouragement and assistance, she wouldn't have even risked putting herself out there like this, and she just couldn't bear how let down they would be, even though they'd both promised her they were proud of her no matter what. Candace understood Luna's drive for success and Julius's dedication to making everything in the world more beautiful, and wanted to do everything she could to help them achieve that.

She had hoped to express her worries to Kasey the few times she'd seen him in the past week, but whenever he'd stopped by it was only for ten minutes at the most, barely long enough for anything more than a "How's it going?"

And when he'd sneak in a quick hug or a squeeze of the hand under Luna's hawk-like monitoring—those were the moments her senses would heighten, that her yearning to speak with him would be stripped away by a strange, foreign impulse: one of desire, a  _longing_. She didn't want to talk, only to stay in his embrace or even pluck up the courage to kiss him on the lips. To show how happy, how grateful she was he had come by just to see  _her_.

The recollection of Kasey's arms around her caused Candace pause as she clutched one of her favorite tops, a powder-blue sweater to herself. It would go wonderfully with the corduroy skirt she'd already picked out. She just hoped she could find a positive outlook to top it all off.

Just as Candace slipped into her sweater, Luna came wandering into their room, looking more polished and put-together than usual; older, even, with her hair down and straightened as opposed to its typical pigtails. Although her sister had so many stylish outfits that it was easy to lose track of them, Candace was almost certain that the purple dress and denim jacket ensemble she was wearing today was brand new, as were the slouchy black boots on her feet.

An open-mouth stare was all Candace could greet her sister with.

"What? Oh... this?" She rolled her mascara-enhanced eyes. "This is how you make boots and denim—" She waved at the respective articles she was wearing. "—look good. Not like what some lame-brained carpenters wear. I'll tell ya, Candace, I'm really doing Bo a favor, keeping him away from Luke's influence. But that's just the type of kind-hearted person I am."

"So I-I'm not the only one with a date today...?" Candace's lips curved into a smile, her tone hinting Luna need not answer.

"Date?!  _Date?!_ Ew, no! Bo's just... arranged to stop by to pick up that huge order of wool socks for the carpentry! Even though  _I_  said I could just take it up there, he doesn't want me to walk all that way with such a heavy box, he said he could come here and get it himself. Whatever. I'm not a child! I've gone up to Garmon Mines by myself plenty of times!" Snatching up her stuffed rabbit, Luna hugged him tight to her chest in one arm, seemingly unaware how contradictory her actions were to her words.

"Luna, I think um... he's just being  _nice._ " Sectioning her hair off in braids, Candace's eyes roved the room in search of her tan clogs—and also because it'd be impossible to look at Luna without giggling at her adamant claim of only pitying Bo, and nothing more.  _"_ And maybe he wants to see you...?"

"Well, look at me, of course he does." Luna flipped her hair back in a haughty manner uncannily resembling Julius. "But it's just a business transaction! It's not a date!"

Sighing in defeat, Candace crouched down to hunt under her bed for her shoes, and there they were. She stepped into them and turned to see Luna and her rabbit had moved over to the vanity.

"So, speaking of  _actual_ dates, what are you and the troll-creature doing for yours, huh?" Luna was perusing the jewelry box, taking out and pairing up earrings that had obviously not been together, with her bunny sitting beside the box and overseeing it all.

"I-I don't know, he said it would be a surprise." Try as she might to get him to divulge even a hint of what their first date would be, Kasey had told her she'd never figure it out, so to not bother trying to. Though Kasey's idea of fun ran a much larger spectrum than hers, she couldn't help but take him at his word completely when he promised—slashed his finger over his heart, crossing it—she would have a good time.

"Well, that sounds gross." Luna said quite matter-of-factly, not looking away from her project.

"No... Luna, I'm sure it w-will be nice." She hugged herself, rubbing her arms briskly to combat the sudden chill rushing up them. "Kasey's very thoughtful."

"Thoughtful and smelly. Here. These are totally you." Luna turned and took hold of Candace's hand, dropping a set of pearl studs into it. "Good luck, okay? I mean it. Don't let him get fresh with you!"

Pinning in the earrings, Candace couldn't repress a grin. "What if  _I_  get fresh with him?"

A stuffed bunny thumped against her arm. " _Candace_!"

* * *

When Kasey arrived at Sonata Tailors, he was not dressed to impressed. Instead, he was suited more appropriately for a track meet, with shiny red athletic pants and a matching zip-up jacket thrown over a wash-worn grey t-shirt.

He was also twenty minutes late, which Luna reminded him of approximately a dozen times as he waited for Candace to replace the wilting begonias in the vase by the kitchen sink with the bouquet of Moondrop Flowers he'd brought her as a gift—but seeing as he was  _twenty minutes late_  they shouldn't have been accepted!

"If you're going to be late, you could at least not look like a walking cow pie!" Luna stomped after Kasey as he crossed into the kitchen and took Candace's hand when he met her by the table.

"The studliest walking cow pie you'll ever see!" He bowed as if she'd just knighted him, not insulted him. "And besides, I was helping Bo—you know, your boyfriend—"

Luna recoiled in horror as though Kasey had just stuck a big hairy spider in her face. "He's not my boyfriend!"

"Okay, your boy  _toy—_ "

"La la la la!" Luna clamped her palms over her ears, walking away and babbling loudly over Kasey's futile attempt to explain his lack of punctuality being the product of stopping to help Bo replace the rusted-out downspout at the General Store.

Candace wanted to interject that if Kasey hadn't paused to help, maybe Bo wouldn't have been able to finish in time to swing by later, as he promised, but Luna had already disappeared into the back rooms.

Alone with Kasey for the first time since she'd asked him out, Candace offered him a small smile, hoping that it showed she wasn't mad at all, for his tardiness or his appearance. "D-Don't listen to Luna, I think you look very nice." Maybe not  _fashionable_ , she would internally admit, but still cute.

"Okay, cool, at least someone thinks so. You look a lot better, though."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and where so often her instinct would have been to look down, away from his magnetic smile, she managed to keep eye contact instead. "Thank you... for the flowers too, they're o-one of my favorites."

"Julius helped me put that bouquet together—he says 'Hi', by the way. And that he hopes we have fun. Or um… how did he say it?" Kasey raised the pitch of his voice. "'Hope your date's as marvelous as me!~' 'Course it will be! C'mon."

Hand-in-hand, they walked out of the store into the beautiful Autumn afternoon. The leaves were just starting to turn, a glaze of crisp yellows, blazing reds and every shade of orange in between bedecking the horizon. It provided a cozy aura, made Candace want to snuggle down into the old sofa in her room and spend a lazy day working on an embroidery that served no purpose other than mindless recreation.

Of course, cuddling up against Kasey while doing was a lot more preferable than doing it alone.  _Maybe our next date, I could invite him over?_

That was the only thought she had time to mull over.

"Here we are." They'd come to a halt in front of the Brass Bar.

 _But... they weren't open at lunch?_ The confusion on her face must have voiced her thoughts.

"I got connections, don't worry." Hand still in hers, Kasey raised his other to knock, five raps in an off-beat measure.

Although Kasey insisted she'd never be able to guess what their date would entail, Candace couldn't help but lose herself to wishful daydreaming. Maybe a nice picnic on the beach, or a walk in the church plaza under the crunch of the fallen leaves. Perhaps visit to Horn Ranch and the newborn horses and sheep, as sweet and harmless as could be. And in all those daydreams, it'd been just the two of them. Finally.

But they were at the Brass Bar, which was very low on the list of options Candace would have picked for a first date venue, and they weren't alone. Someone had opened the door for them.

Selena.

"Hi Kasey. Hi Candace. Oh, don't  _you_  look adorable today?"

It took Candace a few seconds to comprehend that Selena's words had been directed towards her. But then, why  _would_  she be flirting with Kasey? Word had it that ever since the wedding, Luke's visits to the Brass Bar had become daily instead of weekly, and the dancer was the sole reason.

And right on cue, the door to the back rooms flew open, and there was Luke lugging a large stereo in his arms.

"Selena, I fixed it!" Then his eyes caught Kasey and Candace. "Dude, you're late!"

Candace was watching Selena silently eying her with a knowing smirk, but kept an ear to Kasey and Luke.

"Yeah, no thanks to you. I was doin' your job over at the General Store."

"Oh,  _yeah_  ! I had a funny feeling 'bout something this morning! Figured it was just my boxers on backwards!" Luke set down the stereo on the closest table and start to unravel the long cord attached to it. He swung it like lasso above his head, and then whipped it to Kasey. "Here, help me out!"

Laughing, Kasey broke his hand from Candace to catch the cord, and Luke. "Sure, just stop talking 'bout your underwear, okay?"

Left to take in her new surroundings, Candace noticed immediately the establishment was not arranged for dining, but instead more suited for a party or reception. The area in front of the bar was vacant and the tables lined up in a row over against the opposite wall, where Kasey and Luke were attempting to maneuver the stereo cord around the legs in order to plug it in.

"First date jitters?"

Selena had closed in, now only an arm's length away and sporting her trademark arrogant expression. Candace couldn't help but wonder if the dancer ever asked a question she didn't already know the answer to.

Checking to see if Kasey was there to rescue her, it was clear she was out of luck. He was over with Luke, and the two boys were arguing—though not very heatedly, more of a friendly debate—about whether or not Bo should have been left to repair the General Store's gutters by his lonesome.

"A little, I guess. I-It doesn't even feel like we're on a date yet." It was true. Kasey had brought her over to the Brass Bar, to Selena and Luke, and so far he'd spent most of the time with Luke. "He said it'd be a surprise, and I-I'm still not sure what—"

" _Dance_  lessons, Candace! This-" Selena waved a hand to indicate the entire bar around her. "Is your date. I'm giving you and Kasey dance lessons."

"Wh-What? Kasey thinks I need...?" Her fingers twisted in her sweater cuffs. The jitters Selena had asked about were making their presence known.

" _No_ , not for you!" Letting out an exasperated huff, Selena crossed her arms. "Okay, sort of for you. But your Prince Charming over there is  _the_  absolute worst dancer in the world, and I have the bruises on my feet from the wedding to prove it. So I offered to give him lessons. Of course, I figured he'd be more inclined to learn with  _you_  as his partner."

"I-I can't dance either, though. Or...I haven't ever really h-had to. I hope that's okay...?"

"Trust me, you can't be any worse than Kasey. I asked him, was he really sure he wanted to do something so... well,  _embarrassing_  for his first date? He said he didn't care as long as  _you_  were with him. How corny."

"I-I think he's sweet."

"Who's sweet?" Appearing at Candace's side was Kasey. Putting an arm around her, he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. Candace couldn't answer, could only curl her arms up to her face to hide the blush rapidly spreading across it.

"Goddess, you two are worse than my parents," Selena said with a certain amusement suggesting this wasn't exactly a bad thing. "Oh, and Candace? I almost forgot: Sorry 'bout all the drama. No hard feelings, right?"

Though it sounded like her apology was a result of Kasey being there and she were fulfilling some sort of chore, Candace believed that Selena's words were heartfelt. The Toucan Island native wouldn't have been so accommodating of her time if she wasn't truly sorry.

Suddenly a wailing brass tune Candace recognized as similar to what her grandmother listened to filled the bar. Luke hopped up on the nearest table, grinding his heels in and gyrating back and forth, shaking his fists along with the music.

Rushing over and swiping at his legs, Selena growled, "Luke,  _get down_!"

He Twist-ed away from her, the table creaking and knocking under his movement. "I  _am_ gettin' down! 'Round and round and up and down, let's Twist!'" He winked over at Candace, who giggled and pressed closer up to Kasey.

But Selena was not the least bit entertained. " _No_! Everything's all set up. You can go now."

That  _did_  stop Luke in his tracks, squatted down and arms bent in mid-Twist. "But...I want dance lessons too! And you  _promised_  we'd have a real date!"

He hopped off the table, and went to grab Selena by the waist, but she turned her back to him and inspected her perfect nails. "And we will. Soon. Not right now."

Here Candace had thought only Luna was capable of such whining, but Luke was taking it to a whole new level. It was difficult to tell if it was all for show, melodramatic in hopes of embarrassing Selena in front of her friends and therefore giving her no choice but to comply, or if he would have reacted in this manner regardless if anyone was watching.

"Se _leeeeee_ na! My heart will br—oh GODDESS THERE IT GOES!" He clutched at his chest in agony, staggering around before sinking to the floor. "A million little pieces! Extreme despair! Pain! Woe!" For the grand finale, he sprawled out, eyes closed and tongue lolling.

Selena's face was almost as red as her hair as she prodded at Luke's body with her sandalled foot. It probably wasn't helping that Kasey couldn't contain his laughter any longer, nor could Candace stifle giggles from slipping out.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Selena turned to face her two students. "So how do you guys feel about a  _double_ date?"

* * *

Kasey, as always, had been telling the truth. Candace  _did_  have fun, more than she ever remembered with anyone other than Luna. She couldn't recall the last time she spent an afternoon laughing so much, a smile permanently adhered to her face.

Selena supplied expert instruction and a surprising amount of patience, choosing a variety of what she claimed were basic dance steps for couples, from waltzes to samba to a high-tempo disco number, but neither Kasey nor Candace were even close to good.

Proclaiming his fanciest footwork had come that time in a high school science lab when he dodged a spill of corrosive acid, Kasey was every bit as two-left-footed as Selena had warned. Every time he stepped on Candace's foot—which was quite often—he would apologize profusely, and every time, Candace wouldn't even care. She herself was a victim of double-stepping to the beat, and several instances found herself tripping, Kasey's arms preventing her from landing face-first on the floor.

Up until a few week ago, Candace would have never tried something this new, that left her so vulnerable and open to making a fool of herself. Something she was so  _awful_  at.

But being with Kasey, and being terrible at it together—to still smile and become totally enraptured in the moment, with each other and with friends—she couldn't have dreamt up a more perfect first date.

Meanwhile, Luke was purposely messing up his steps in an effort to force Selena to guide him, to touch his arms and legs and show him the proper positions. He offered to show her some of his own moves, such as "the sprinkler" and "the lawn mower"—maybe Selena could make them part of her stage routine? Selena acted absolutely appalled at the suggestion, but more than once Candace caught a smile fighting its way through the dancer's annoyed facade.

It was almost three hours and countless stumbles, "sorry"s and "it's okay"s later when, right in the middle of an upbeat swing number, the tune switched to a slow, tender jazz melody.

Before Candace knew it, Kasey's hands were at her sides. She cautiously set hers at his shoulders, and glanced over to where the music was coming from.

Luke and Selena were seated at the table with the CD player—or, more accurately, Luke was seated there, and Selena was in his lap, legs crossed and sitting straight like a queen perched on her throne.

Luke's lost-in-a-daze grin as his fingers stroked Selena's arm, and Selena's eyelids lowering, her head bowing as she whispered something to him—Candace  _knew,_ had been there, was  _still_ there, and was happy for them, just as much as for herself.

"This is more my speed," Kasey murmured, tilting his head down enough that if Candace wanted to—and  _oh_  did she want to—she could easily kiss him.

"M-Mine too."

And then Kasey's foot squashed onto hers. "Sorry!"

She just giggled, her arms moving down to around his middle, closing her eyes and embracing him tight, resting her head against his chest.

Candace could have stayed there forever in a peaceful sway with her head on Kasey's chest, but it was no more than a few minutes, because Luna came charging into the bar with Bo right behind her, waving something wildly in her hand.

"There you are!  _You_!  _Move!_ " Without a moment's hesitation, she propelled herself shoulder-first into Kasey, knocking him away from Candace, and stuck the object she was holding—the cordless phone from the shop, its red 'Hold' button winking—right into Candace's face.

"Candace! My teacher..." Luna gulped in deep breaths, her face flushed from exertion, and shook her sister's arm after she took the phone. "My teacher from the city, Ms. Desrosiers... she's on the phone and she wants to talk to you! About those designs!"

"Excuse me!" Kasey protested from a few feet away, rubbing at his arm where Luna had collided with him.

"There is no excuse for you!" Luna rounded on him in a whirl of pink hair. "If Bo wasn't with me and known you'd taken my sister captive here, she could be missing the opportunity of a lifetime!"

Those words— _"opportunity of a lifetime"_ —snapped Candace from her dumbstruck disbelief. It also rendered Kasey speechless, no comeback flying out. He blinked at Luna, as though unsure if he should believe the gravity of her words.

Then he regained his composure, mouth splitting into a grin. "Well. See what she wants."

Seeking privacy, Candace hurried over to the stage, taking a deep, steadying breath as she sat down on the piano bench. In the background, the low, dulcet jazz tones played on, which also provided a sense of calming.

She pressed a thumb onto the "Hold" button. "H-Hello? This is Candace."

"Candace! I'm so glad that I got ahold of you!" Luna's teacher had a slight French accent that gave her friendly voice a touch of elegance. "My name is Marie-Therese Desrosiers, and I used to teach your sister Luna, as you might know. Your friend Julius mailed me some of your lovely designs and I must say that they are quite impressive. I was wondering if you would be interested in attending some classes here in the city to, shall we say, broaden your talents?"

"I... yes, I would! Luna a-and Julius have said only good things about you." She hoped she didn't sound disingenuous; she really had no idea what to say, and the excitement bubbling up inside was beginning to take control of her.

"Excellent. Let me give you a little bit of background about myself, my school, and this program in particular."

Candace did her best to listen attentively, but some of her concentration fell to the scene playing out in the middle of the bar. Though not able to catch most her friends' words, it was easy to determine what was going on.

By the way they were motioning to the two, and (poorly) miming the moves Selena had taught, Luke and Kasey were wondering, why didn't Bo and Luna have a dance-lesson date of their own? Luna, of course, sniffed at the idea, to which Luke and Kasey responded by breaking into even sillier dance steps, prancing around her in a circle. Bo covered his reddening face with his hands, and Selena excused herself to the bar and began to fix herself a drink.

Candace gave hums of acknowledgement and interest as Ms. Desrosiers spoke about how her daughter, who was about the same age as Candace and extremely hard to please, thought the designs were top-notch. She described how the classes consisted of about a dozen other girls from all different towns, and that they started the Monday after next and ran through Winter into the first week of Spring—seven weeks altogether.

Not only were there classroom sessions, but the girls would have to submit their own handmade products as part of the grade, and those who finished with top marks would have the opportunity to have their designs selected and produced by some of the most prominent names in the fashion industry.

"Of course you don't have to let me know  _right now_. I'll give you the weekend to think it over, and if you could give me a call back next week before Thursday? Although, there's only limited room and some of the other girls have already accepted, so there is a chance that you—"

"No!" Candace was much louder than she intended, and out of the corner of her eye she caught all five of the others rubbernecking at her uncharacteristic outburst. "I mean, no, I... I don't have to think about it, I... Ms. Desrosiers, I would love to be part of your class, I... I'm so honored, thank you. I-I'll be there by next Sunday. I can't wait to m-meet you in person... thank you again, so much."

"Thank  _you,_ Candace. I'm looking forward to meeting you as well! I'll mail out an itinerary, you should receive it no later than Tuesday, okay?  _À tout à l'heure!"_

After Ms. Desrosiers hung up, Candace stared blankly at the phone, wondering what in the world she had just done, if this whole day was just a dream.   _So much is going right, shouldn't something be about to go wrong?_

Kasey was the first to approach her, sitting down on the piano bench beside her with honest curiosity written all over his face.

And then she remembered: she hadn't talked to him at all about any of this. Yes, he'd been the one who had planted the idea in her head, to even try, but she'd yet to actually tell him how she'd followed through with any of it.

_Will he be upset? We just had our first date and now I'm going to be away for seven weeks and I didn't even ask what he thought._

"Kasey, I was going to t-tell you but I didn't think it would actually... I mean, I thought—"

"Well? What did she say?!" Luna rushed up, that she was right beside Kasey. Bo, Luke and Selena followed in a cluster behind her.

Getting to her feet, Candace quickly filled everyone in on why she'd received a phone call in the first place, and why it'd been so urgent, since Luna was the only one who had even an inkling what was going on. How Kasey's encouragement had led to her and Luna brainstorming, and eventually Julius lending a helping hand.

As she spoke, there were tears of joy burning behind her eyes, but she willed them away as everyone listened attentively and with growing smiles. The one time her voice faltered and the tears nearly spilled out was when she caught Kasey absently touching at his necklace, his brown eyes focused on her but his features otherwise expressionless.

With a deep breath, Candace offhandedly wondered how people like Luna and Luke could possibly talk this much every day. "S-So, she wants me to come study in the city! It's a special seven-week class, and she invited  _me_ to be in it!"

Immediately, Luna shrieked with happiness and threw her arms around her sister hard enough that the two girls would have tumbled to the floor if the piano wasn't there behind them.

A chorus of cheers rang out over Luna's excited squeals.

"Whoa, that's awesome!" Luke whooped and punched a fist into the air. "Is there gonna be a bandana course?!"

His answer was an elbow from Selena. "Hm, glad to see I'm not the  _only_  one with ambition around here." Candace understood that comparing anyone to herself was quite the compliment from Selena.

"Way to go, Candace! I'm sure you'll be the best student they've ever had." Bo chirped, earning an " _Oh_?" from Luna. "Er,  _one_  of the best!"

Kasey was the only one who didn't say anything. He was still seated on the bench, still fiddling with his necklace, in what was something of a trance, as though he needed more time to decide on whether this really called for a favorable reaction.

"K-Kasey? I-I was going to tell you!" She knew she was repeating herself, but didn't know what else to tell him, other than the truth. It hadn't been on her mind during the date, with as much fun as she'd been having, and with Julius warning her to perhaps not to expect a response at all.

As though sensing her protection may be needed, Luna shifted her body slightly, her hug now serving as a shield, as opposed to just the congratulations it was originally intended.

Kasey stood, and for the splittest of seconds Candace thought he was about to walk away. Instead, he peeled Luna out of her hug—quite easily, and much to the chagrin of Luna—and bracketed Candace's face with his hands, fingers threading into her hair.

"Tell me about it later, okay?"

His lips crushed onto hers, and she gripped his jacket to keep herself from crumpling to the floor—and to keep him  _here_ , in the kiss, even though she hardly knew  _how_  to kiss him back.

Her body felt like a pincushion, a thousand sensations—wonderful, tingling sensations— needling her from all over and all at once scary and addictive. This wasn't the first kiss she'd ever expected, so unrestrained and fiercely  _wanting_ , but it was the one she knew she deserved.

Somewhere in the back of her mind was the gratefulness that they  _weren't_  alone—she didn't trust herself, how long she would have let this  _and more_  last, if they'd been the only ones in the bar.

A wolf-whistle from Luke caused Candace to break from the kiss with a choked laugh. Kasey chuckled too, but his eyes were fixed on her and bright with admiration.

She knew she'd done the right thing, and it was all thanks to this boy.

This boy who made her feel like she could be anything, but made her only want to be Candace— just Candace, because that was all he expected, and nothing more. This boy who'd entered her life one day and become such a tremendous part of it that it was as if his name was embroidered on her heart.

 _This boy—_ Candace buried her face into Kasey's shirt as the tears came streaming out— _that I'm leaving_.


	10. Making and Breaking

 "Dinner is served!"

  _There is to be no visitors on academy grounds after 21:00 Mondays through Fridays. Failure to abide by this rule will result in disciplinary measures, up to and including expulsion._

"Mmhm."

_Each student is required to bring her own sewing supplies. The academy will provide one set of writing instruments and two notebooks per student; any additional supplies should be brought by the student._

"What do you want to drink?"

_Winter Break will be an extended four-day weekend (Friday through Monday) from Winter 20-23. Students will need to notify staff no less than one week prior if they intend on staying at the academy during this time._

"Okay..."

Before Candace could read about the mandatory weekly check-ins with teachers (which didn't much matter, since she had the book memorized), the itinerary that Ms. Desrosiers had mailed her was ripped away from her hands, a fork shoved into its place.

"Candace, you've read over that thing fifty billion times." Kasey was grinning at her, but his tone hinted at disappointment.

He wasn't far off—it hadn't left her possession since she'd received it Tuesday, and now it was Friday night. The night before the Moon Festival, and the night before she departed to the city. But it had been the only way to keep herself from getting too focused on the fact that she was  _leaving_  Castanet—it was much easier to think of it as she was  _arriving_  somewhere new, instead.

"S-Sorry...I just don't want to miss anything... I'm just so worried." She glanced down in front of her, at the coffee table, to see a plate full of homemade spaghetti and sauce. She was too nervous to really have much of an appetite, but this was the final night she'd see Kasey in over seven weeks; the least she could do was be polite and eat the dinner he'd made for her.

"You'll be fine." Kasey handed her the plate of spaghetti and scooched closer to her on the couch, the marathon of Sprite Rangers on his TV chattering in the background. "I bet all the other girls going are nervous too, it'd be weird if they weren't, even a little bit.  _I_  was kind of nervous before I came here, and it's turned out okay, right?"

To most people, his whole week of nothing but sweet remarks and affectionate gestures would have signaled Kasey wasn't taking this hard at all. That he was accepting and even excited for Candace to go out and pursue her dream. And he  _was,_ never the sort who was so selfish to whine that she stay on Castanet and skip out on this opportunity, just because he would miss her.

But Candace knew him better than that, could see his smile fading into a weak version of itself whenever addressing her imminent departure. How he'd been more withdrawn and spending most of the time that he wasn't at Sonata Tailors alone on his farm (he claimed he was just really concerned about his first rice harvest), and when he  _was_  at the tailors, he was far less antagonistic with Luna—cooperative, even, as the three of them worked together a couple days ago to pack Candace's suitcases.

They ate in silence for a short time, the only noise being quiet chuckles from Kasey as the Sprites faced off against Space Devil Hamil, but it was long enough that Candace's mind began to wander, with no itinerary to distract her.

"K-Kasey? What are you doing tomorrow, for the Moon Festival...?" She didn't want to dwell on how this  _would_  have been their first Festival together as a couple, but she was curious; she knew it was one of his favorite festivals and wanted to make sure he had something planned. Something that didn't involve him being alone.

Kasey swiped spaghetti sauce from his mouth before answering. "I'll probably just fifth wheel it with Luke and Selena, and Owen and Kathy." He didn't sound very down about that prospect at all. In fact, there was a mischievous spark in his eyes. "I'd rather go with  _you_ , but... here, lemme show you." He motioned towards the kitchen.

After setting her half-eaten spaghetti aside, Candace followed Kasey to the kitchen. The stove held a giant steel pot Candace deduced must be a canner, for all the jars on the counter beside it. In front of the sink were a cluster of transparent knee-high jugs filled with a cloudy golden-tan liquid, all corked shut, some of the with large syringes sticking out of the corks. Empty mason jars and their lids were scattered on the nearby shelf, amid random action figures and a model spacecraft.

It was a confusing mess to Candace, but Kasey beamed proudly.

"Apple cider." He stepped aside to open the refrigerator door, wherein sat several smaller Mason jars, all filled. "I'm gonna bottle up as much as I can , use one of Cain's wagons to wheel it out to Moon Hill for everyone to drink at the festival."

Candace suspected that by "everyone", Kasey was talking mostly about himself and his four friends guzzling it down like water, even though he would be willing to share his supply with all the townspeople.

"Here, this is just plain ol' apple cider. I wanted to make sure I could do that, 'fore I added alcohol to the mix." He retrieved one of the Mason jars, unscrewed the lid and handed it to Candace, and the crisp, tart aroma of apples wafted around her.

She took a small sip, and then a longer one. It was quite delicious; she could understand why he was looking forward to sharing it with the Festival attendees. "It's r-really good... I was worried when you..." She sighed, hoping it wouldn't be too critical of her to point it out. "Y-You weren't around town, much, besides when you'd visit me. People were a-asking about you, where you were, but I didn't know what to s-say, I didn't want to tell them the wrong thing."

Kasey leaned against the kitchen counter, now holding his own jar of cider. "Well, I wasn't planning on making all of this, not the alcoholic kind, anyway. But... it's kind of taken my mind off... things. And the actual making part has been fun. Not so much sitting around filling it up in a zillion jars, but... y'know, since I've never done it before, it's sort of like a little... science project. Just much more tasty, with alcohol and fruit instead of molecules and whatever."

Candace nodded, happy to know that Kasey's alone time had been something productive and not a prolonged episode of wallowing in misery. "I... I like that you... do that."

"Do what?"

"Things y-you've never done before. I don't know if... I would have done... any of this, if it weren't for you." Candace dropped her gaze to her shoes, crossing her arms over her middle and hugging her jar of cider. Despite meaning to sound complimentary, she couldn't keep the sadness out of her voice.

There was the small clink of Kasey putting down his cider, and then his hand found her arm, absently rubbing up and down. "You'll be okay, Candace. Really."

"I did think about backing out... calling the school and telling them I'm not ready. Maybe I'm not, if most of the girls have more people skills, like Luna..."

Last night had been her only hiccup. Julius had treated her to dinner at the Ocarina Inn, and it consisted mostly of him relaying advice and quizzing her about hypothetical situations that may present themselves, both at school and in life in the city at large. He obviously thought it was the prudent thing to do, to ensure she was aware of what she was getting into, but instead of leaving the inn satisfied and more prepared, Candace was terrified of how disappointed he would be if she didn't measure up to the other girls.

She told Kasey all this, and, upon seeing he was itching to interrupt her, quickly added what her ultimate decision had been.

"But... I don't think I could stand to face you, or Luna or Julius, or... anyone, myself especially, if I didn't try." It was true. She couldn't hide forever, like a child, just to prevent bad things from happening; it would prevent anything good from happening, too.

"Good. And hey, even if things don't work out at this school..." Kasey pressed a soft kiss atop her head. "At least you'll have your smelly farmer boyfriend to return to, stuck with for all eternity. "

Her lips curved into a smile as she took another sip of cider, and her heart leapt at Kasey's oh-so-casual hint at  _forever_. "A-As long as you promise to w-wear all my failed designs."

"Every single one."

Candace laughed to herself and finished off her cider, picturing Kasey in some of the outfits she'd drawn, that were obviously meant for a female, and didn't think for a second he'd be against wearing them if it meant making her laugh. It was still new for her, accepting his compliments, but becoming easier each time.

Kasey retrieved a second glass for himself and offered another to Candace.

"Oh, no thank you. You should save it for tomorrow."

"Yeah, if I get it all done by then. I mean, I'm kind of busy, between... the morning, and my ranch and who knows how long it'll take me to actually load it all up." With a sigh, he slid the rejected cider back into the fridge.

"Why don't I help you! You helped me pack, it's the least I could do." It was odd to hear her own voice so full of excitement, but inside she didn't feel the least bit strange about expressing it, because she really  _did_  want to help.

"Candace, you don't want to spend your last night on Castanet filling bottles of apple cider. It'll be so boring, seriously."

"It won't be! Not together... and you could tell me how you made it. Please? I'd... I'd rather do that than just sit around watching Sprite Rangers."

"What's wrong with Sprite Rangers?!" It was probably the most honestly offended Candace had ever heard Kasey.

"It's... not really my type of show," she confessed. It hadn't ever captivated her the way it had the boys her age, which she supposed was because of its lack of romance.

"I think maybe you're just a secret agent of Space Devil Hamil." Kasey swooped a hand in to try to tickle her, but she dodged him, giggling. "But all right, you're officially on assistant apple cider brewer duty."

* * *

As Kasey had warned, it wasn't terribly exciting. All that had to be done was bottling the ready cider, siphoning it from the jug to the tap-bucket and then to the tall growlers that would be brought to the festival, and while a simple process, the heady aroma of the alcohol was tough to stomach for Candace. Thankfully, the bright grin on Kasey's face, the fervor in his eyes as he explained how the mashed and pureed apples went from fruit to fizzy liquid form was a potent enough remedy.

Several times he paused, worrying the talk of pH measurement and temperature regulation was either too boring or way over Candace's head—or was he being way too dorky for her? No, she assured him. Even though she didn't quite comprehend every detail of it, she couldn't help but wonder to herself: was this attraction she felt for the passion he had the same that he felt when she had shared about her love for sewing and design?

Just as Candace was about to close yet another swing-top cap, her hand instead went to her mouth, covering a yawn.

"I think that's plenty for tonight." Kasey set his hand where hers had been, popping the swing-top shut.

"Hm?" Half out of curiosity and half from fighting to keep her eyes open, she blinked up at Kasey.

"We made a good dent, that's over half in bottles now." He waved vaguely towards the filled growlers lining the floor beside the fridge. "I should get you home, though. I'm surprised Luna hasn't hunted you down and dragged you out of my er... I think she used the term 'den of inequity', once."

"She..." Candace hesitated just long enough to feel the weight of the words in her mouth, before she said them. "She knows I'm staying over here tonight."

"You..." It was as if someone had pressed a pause button on Kasey, the way his mouth froze half-open, his eyes wide and unblinking.

"If that's okay with you. I just w-want to... spend time with you." Moving in against him without a second thought, she circled her arms around him, knowing she wasn't giving him much of a choice. Despite being warm already herself, the warmth he exuded was comforting, as was the apple-y scent clinging to his thermal top. Beside the pulse of his heartbeat, she could feel the solid lump under his shirt that was his necklace.

His fingers lazily combed through her hair. "Spending time is always good. I just don't want you to miss your boat or... Luna to murder me in my sleep. She could, you know."

"She won't, she's okay with me staying."

When Candace had decided she would not waver from this decision, would not let Luna boss her around and ban her from staying over at Kasey's, she had expected more of an objection from her sister.

Instead, Luna had rolled her eyes. "Um,  _duh_ , you're staying over. It's your last night here and he's your—" She took a deep, calming breath. " — _boyfriend._ It'd be pretty weird if you  _didn't_  want to be around him. Besides, I have the next seven weeks, without you here, to instill the fear of the Harvest King in him. I can deal with you staying over there tonight. Just keep it PG!"

So Candace promised Luna she would. Except, right now, she couldn't understand why she had. Another seven weeks before she saw Kasey again, before he held her and touched her hair like he was now, always deliberate yet gentle. Before his smile wove its way into her every thought like a tapestry and his hugs that made her feel no danger would ever come her way.

Pressing onto her toes, letting her hands fan across Kasey's back, she kissed him. There again was that floatiness inside her, that she still hadn't gotten used to (and probably never would) as their bodies brushed, as he kissed her back and she was left feeling somehow helpless and invincible at the same time.

In a matter of seconds, they had moved from the kitchen to Kasey's bed, him sitting down and pulling her onto his lap. The cool Autumn air swept over her shoulders as her cardigan was peeled off, dropped to the floor.

Luna would expect an apology from the both of them if she found out Candace had broken her promise.

 _If she finds out._ Her knees bent on either side of Kasey's lap and her hands traveled to find the tail of his shirt. She'd spent so much of her life being sorry about everything that it'd almost defeated her. It was quite nice to think and feel and do so unapologetically for once.


	11. Counting Stars

If Luna did find out anything about tonight, there wouldn't be a whole lot to find.

Because they hadn't done  _every_ thing. They'd made out, had stripped out of their tops, but when Candace had flinched as Kasey's hand slipped under her camisole, he stopped, and she was truthfully very glad he did.

A part of her had believed that maybe his feelings would fade if they weren't to go all the way, perhaps assuming she didn't want him as wholly as she claimed, and another part of her felt that, at her age, she ought to get it over with. That she'd be the only girl at school unable to talk about experiences with a boyfriend, and be ridiculed for it.

She didn't express all this to Kasey; thankfully she didn't have to. He was the one who told her spending time together didn't necessarily mean he'd been expecting  _all this_  to happen.

Not that it was bad, of course, not at all. Just, it would be much better when she was actually ready, wanting it for her own reasons as opposed to feeling forced by time apart.

Candace agreed, and if it she weren't so overcome with exhaustion and gratefulness, she might even have cried. As it was, she just cuddled close to him, letting out a soft whine when he reluctantly scooted out of bed to go shower. Contrary to what Luna would have her believe, he said, he actually  _did_ bathe every day.

Lying there in his bed, she listened to the far-off hiss of the shower, the soft hooting of owls and periodic chirp of cicadas from the outdoors. It was so peaceful, so calming—she'd never really dwelt upon it much, but it would be nothing at all like this tomorrow night.

Tomorrow night she would be unpacking, while her family and friends were enjoying the Moon Festival. Of course, she had  _known_  this, but now it was starting to fully impact her as her mind began listing all the other events she would be absent for.

Not only would she miss Kasey's birthday in a few days, but Julius's and Grandma's too. Her  _own_  birthday spent in classes, or at an unfamiliar eatery or tea room, possibly watching the snowfall outside. A snow that wouldn't be the picturesque, pristine white that coated Castanet but a cold, dreary grey slush, piled along the sidewalks and cramped back into alleys.

Would she even remember it was her birthday when it came, with no Luna to shake her awake and shove a present in her face, and no Grandma to bake her a cake?

Cakes, like the ones she'd bake with Luna on Harmony Day. The two of them getting covered in flour and frosting, and sharing the batter afterward. Would she have time to bake a cake for anyone, and would there even be anyone at school who she'd bond with, who she'd want to bake a cake for?

Sitting up with a start, Candace searched for anything to distract her from such depressing thoughts. She'd never seen Kasey's bedroom—or, the area of his house that he'd designated as such—before, and was hardly surprised that it very much had "college-age boy" written all over it.

Tacked up on the wall above his bed was a large colorful poster of the periodic table, and beside his bed, his nightstand littered with candy wrappers and pens and bent-out paperclips. Diagonally above the nightstand hung a corkboard, decorated with a calendar and a veritable hodge-podge of photographs and pictures. Candace inched across the bed to inspect more closely, noticing that so many of the items pinned up shared a thumbtack or overlapped another.

Mixed in with artwork of various comic book superheroes were a couple photos of a younger Kasey alongside, Candace assumed, high-school friends. One, a shy-looking boy who appeared as if he'd been dragged into the photo against his will as Kasey rubbed the boy's brown hair in an affectionate, brotherly sort of way. Another showcased a chestnut-haired, pixie-like girl with her lips pursed into a goofy fishface as Kasey did the same beside her.

The majority of the photos, however, were arranged on the right side of the corkboard, and were of Castanet Island residents. Most of them were the posed, professional shots that Simon took: Kasey at Theodore's Circus kneeling between Paolo and Taylor, all three guys baring their teeth and extending their curved hands up like claws, pretending to be lions themselves; Kasey and Hamilton and Gill with wreaths of cherry blossoms on their heads, Hamilton and Kasey very pleased about it and Gill looking far less pleased, and also as though he might sneeze.

But what caught Candace's eyes were the few photos scattered about that were visibly different, and she touched each of them as she examined them carefully. These were on an instant-film, some of them splotchy with negative marks, all of them with an amateur quality about them, candid shots. They all featured various patrons and workers from the Brass Bar, captured in the midst of something: Hayden and Cain sharing hearty laughs; an annoyed Chase with a skillet in one hand, his other out towards the camera ready to knock it away; Kathy glancing over her shoulder in wide-eyed shock, caught unawares.

"You like those?" A damp-haired Kasey plopped down on the bed next to her, towel draped over his shoulders

"They're very..." Her fingers moved to another photo, this of Luke and Maya both reaching for a bottle of chocolate syrup for the bowls of ice cream in front of them.

"Lame?" Kasey provided, scrubbing one end of the towel over his hair.

"Well, they're... they have their own touch, I suppose."

"I'm not very good at photography—just have that old beat-up camera Simon gave me. I just got bored one night, brought the camera along to the bar. I took more pictures than that, but I sent some of them to the few pals I have back home." Kasey reached up to indicate the photos of himself with his friends.

That's when it clicked in Candace's mind. "Kasey! Are you sure... are you sure you don't use the camera much?"

"Nuh-uh." He shook his head, droplets of water trickling down his neck, darkening the blue tank top he was wearing. "I was even thinking of giving it to Phoebe so she could use the parts for... well, whatever."

"Why don't I take it to the city! And then I can send  _you_  pictures, like you did for your friends? It would probably help me in classes too!" She thought of the dozens upon dozens of magazine models she'd cut out for Luna for inspiration. What if she saw real-live fashionistas in the city who were worth noting?

Kasey swung off the bed, kneeling in front of his bureau to dig socks, more socks, and eventually the camera out of the bottom drawer. "I don't know how easy it'll be to find film for it. But if you do, I'd love to see whatever you have to send me."

Candace took the camera from him, turning it over in her hands for a few minutes before setting it down atop the bureau. She wasn't an expert on photography by any means either, her only experience coming from taking pictures at the New Year's Eve fashion show over the years whenever her sister placed.

 _Yet another event I'll miss_ , she thought, swallowing down the sadness rising in her throat.

Sitting back down beside her, Kasey gave her a nudge with his elbow. "Hey. Wanna know what I was doing in the shower?"

 _Did_  she want to know?! If he was trying to cheer her up, he was going about it horribly wrong.

Sure, they'd been quite intimate earlier but it was still all new to her, enough for her face to fall into a slightly horrified expression.

"I was thinkin'." He obviously knew he'd misled her, with the way he'd worded his question, and was smiling playfully about it.

"...Thinking?" She repeated, still gathering her composure.

"Yes, just thinking. That's where I do my best thinking, in the shower. Anyway, I got to thinking how much it sucks that you're going to miss... everything here. And I don't know what they do in the city, for festivals and stuff. Like, we didn't have all these festivals back home, we had different holidays, so who knows what they do in the city, right?"

Candace was unsure of where he was going with this, but she nodded silently.

"So, I decided, why not have the Starry Night Festival tonight instead? Close your eyes."

She obeyed, still not fully grasping what Kasey meant by all this.

Beneath her, the bed squeaked and bobbed as Kasey moved around, and behind her eyelids she sensed the room go from the dim light it'd been in to a pitch dark.

"Okay, you can open them"

Candace did so, her eyes taking a second to adjust to the darkness. The only light was a faint glow overhead, and when she tilted her head up there were at least a hundred stars, some spackled up seemingly at random, others in very obvious and well-known constellations, like The Big Dipper. She let out a soft child-like gasp of appreciation.

"They're so... beautiful!"

"Yeah, you think so?" Kasey laughed, hooking an arm around her and pulling them both down onto the bed. "My neighbor back home, Kevin, he had a bunch of these on his ceiling and I always thought they were the most awesome thing, so he bought me a pack before I moved here. It's kind of dumb, I guess, since I can see the real ones right from my door step, but... I dunno. It was cool that he did that."

She liked very much how neatly her head fit into the crook of his shoulder, and breathed in the fresh soapy scent lingering on his skin as the weariness that had briefly lifted crashed back over her, settling in even deeper than before. It took so much effort to keep her eyes open, to answer him. "It's not dumb at all... I think it's nice. You have something... to remember him by."

"And now you'll have something to remember me by."

How could she forget him, for even a moment? Knowing the smoggy city sky would be dotted with skyscraper lights and not the crystalline spark of stars, she had resigned herself to missing out on the Starry Night Festival this year.

He hadn't needed to do any of this. As simple and childish it was, really, looking at glow-in-the-dark stickers, it was every bit as meaningful as all the past Starry Night Festivals she'd been to.

"I love the festivals... the ones like this." She continued her internal thoughts out loud, unable to take her half-mast eyes off the artificial sky above her. "They always make me reminisce... about past festivals and..."

"And?"

"And why we have them. They used to be the only times I was all right thinking about myself. I liked... that. They're humbling, in that way. They really... m-make you consider yourself, especially when it comes time to wish..."

Kasey gave a short laugh, then snatched something off his bedside table with his free hand. Within seconds, a bright red dot appeared on the ceiling. "Okay, well now's your chance!"

The laser-dot curved along the sea of stars as Kasey guided it along. Candace giggled when he made  _fwoosh_ ing sound effects.

"Did you make a wish too?" She asked as the red dot reached the bottom of the stars, and Kasey flicked off the laser-pen.

"Nah, I'm gonna do that at the real festival. This is just for you. What'd you wish for?"

Her wish—not just at the Starry Night Festival, but every day—had been to bring happiness to her friends and family in some way.

While laying here and wishing was fine, the only way to make sure it would come true would be to do it herself.

Tomorrow, after she... she...?

"...Candace?" Kasey's voice drifted over her, fading out as she slipped into a contented sleep with the stars still glowing softly behind her eyes.


	12. Epilogue

_Kasey,_

_I know I just sent you a letter a couple days ago, but your birthday gift arrived this afternoon, and I wanted to say thank you! I really did think at first you sent me a Sprite Rangers DVD, but when I opened the case and saw the bracelet and card inside...thank you so much!_

_It's snowing right now, the first snow this year. Has it snowed yet on Castanet? Please dress warmly for Winter. I know that sounds motherly but I really don't want you to get frostbite or catch a cold._

_I still haven't gotten very close to the other girls here, but they're not mean to me, or anything like that. I think we just don't have much to talk about outside of class. That's quite alright with me, as it's given me more time to focus on my studies._

_To answer your question, about what I'll be doing for my birthday: Remember I told you about Ms. Desrosiers daughter, Antoinette? At first I thought she didn't like me (or anyone) but it turns out she's just somewhat shy, and we've gotten to know each other a little better whenever she visits each weekend. She is the one who told me about the cafe where I've taken to doing some of my homework. Anyway, I was thinking of asking her to go with me tomorrow._

_How are things between Luke and Selena now? I don't mean to be nosy but I know that you are friends with both of them, so I imagine you might be in a tough predicament, with them breaking up. I hope they can at least work things out and stay on good terms._

_Our class is taking a field trip to a high-end boutique on the other side of the city next week to interview the owner. I'm nervous but in a good way. The store is near a river and walking bridge... it's very pretty from what I've heard, so I'll do my best to take some pictures._

_I think that's it for now._

_Missing you,_  
_Candace_

* * *

 

Carefully folding the letter up, Candace tucked it inside an envelope. She addressed it and set it on a pile to go with the letters she'd written to Julius, and to Luna and Grandma.

Time to get back to her classwork. Even if it was a Friday night, she might as well take advantage of the empty suite, and do as much as she could so she didn't have to worry about it tomorrow, on her birthday.

She completed a packet about turn-of-century fashion and began an essay about the history of women's evening wear, before she noticed the clock approaching 23:00. Wanting to be up early enough to catch Antoinette in the breakfast hall, she scribbled out the last sentence of the paragraph she was on, before packing up her notebook and preparing for bed.

Her room was smaller than back on Castanet, as it was one of only two singles in the suite. No one else had wanted it, stating it was cramped and creepy, but Candace liked the slanted ceiling, the old radiator and the large window with tallies and height markers scratched into its frame. It had needed a friend, she thought, someone who would appreciate it for what it was.

As she removed her earrings and brushed out her hair in front of the bureau that was tucked back in the corner, she couldn't help but stare into the mirror attached to it... or, more accurately, stare at the carved oak frame of it, and the photograph she kept wedged there.

It was the most important item that she had at school with her, even more than Kasey's bracelet, the tin of cookies Luna had sent, the new leather wallet Grandma had given her, or the jeweled headband from Julius.

A photo of her last morning in Harmonica Town.

A morning which had gone exactly as expected... until it didn't.

The long, tired walk back to the tailors with Kasey; the quick breakfast with Grandma and Luna, as Kasey gave them a respectful privacy, offering to take Candace's suitcases down to the pier. Grandma with happy tears as she told Candace how proud she was of her for going after what makes her happy, and Luna with no tears at all as they walked together to the dock, because Candace knew her sister would never cry in front of her – that she would always  _always_  act strong enough for the both of them.

When the sisters reached the pier, Candace gasped, unable to find Kasey at first.

Because there were so many other people there with him.

Julius, Luke, Selena and Bo were all there to see her off. Even after all of Castanet had offered their well-wishes and goodbye gifts over the past week, they had still gotten up at "the buttcrack of dawn" (Luke stated, stretching and yawning wildly and almost punching Bo in the face as he did so) and on a festival day, no less.

She'd been beside herself with joy; Luna and Kasey had had no part in it. Her friends were there all of their own accord.

At some point, she had picked the photo out of the mirror frame—its corner was ragged now, because she did this quite often—and examined it as if for the first time, despite having looked at it nearly ever day she'd been here.

She could almost taste the cool salt air that had swirled around them as she thought back on how Pascal, who watched with interest as Kasey fiddled around with the camera in the last minutes before the boat departed, had offered to take a photo of them all. Candace didn't much like having her picture taken, but it was hard to refuse everyone else, who so desperately wanted to preserve this moment (and Luna, who told her she'd better make sure Kasey's hunk-a-junk camera actually worked).

_"Three..."_

_"Ooh, Pascal, make sure you get my good side!~"_

_"You don't_ _**have** _ _a good side!"_

_"Two..."_

_"Um, Luke, could you get your hand off my butt?"_

_"Maybe your butt just likes my hand!"_

_"One!"_

Julius in a saucy angled pose with his hand on his hip—his good side, Candace agreed. Luna in front of Julius, her hair down and artfully blown in the morning breeze, smiling radiantly and not at all disgusted by the fact that Bo, with his own shy, crooked smile, had an arm around her waist. On the other end stood Luke beaming with a Chesire grin as he flashed a pair of bunny ears on a smirking and unsuspecting Selena.

And in the middle, Kasey, just how Candace always pictured him in her mind: handsome yet approachable, confident yet kind, a boy who'd taken the reins of his own life and never looked back once for anything.

It was the girl he was holding close Candace hadn't recognized at first, that had made her blink, wonder if something had gone wrong with the photo's development.

A girl who was  _happy_ , not just with her life and her friends, but with her  _self_. Who was proud to be in the middle of the picture, who didn't want to be shunted off to the side any longer.

Candace moved her gaze from the photo to the mirror, and the same pretty girl smiled back at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic took me almost 3 years to finish, with inspiration coming and going. But I'm really happy with it - it helped me grow as a writer. There's definitely aspects that could be better but for the most part I love this - love all the characters and writing them. Plus, it's of one of my fave HM pairings. :) Hope you enjoyed it too.


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